School of Engineering
Showing 51-67 of 67 Results
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Adele Tanaka
CARS Associate Director, Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS)
Current Role at StanfordCARS Associate Director
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William R. Van Dalsem
Adjunct Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
BioBill recently completed 40+ years at NASA. Bill's goal is to help the next generation of engineers address the complex challenges facing society, such as climate change, and the resulting critical needs to achieve greener energy and transportation and reduce the impact of wildfires and droughts.
He graduated from Stanford with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (with a minor in Aeronautics and Astronautics) in 1984, as well as a Master's in Mechanical Engineering in 1981. Bill received his Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara where his capstone project was an operational diffuser augmented wind turbine. Bill was a University of California Regent Scholar.
At NASA, Bill began as a research scientist in computational fluid dynamics, eventually providing leadership to organizations that provided aerodynamic support to activities ranging from the Space Shuttle to V/STOL aircraft. Bill led NASA-wide programs which brought high-performance computing to bear on Earth sciences, multi-disciplinary physics to aerospace design, and explored the application of nano and quantum technologies to NASA missions. Bill led NASA Ames' Intelligent Systems Division, which provided critical software to NASA's Earth-like planet detecting Kepler mission, two missions to the Moon, and many innovative small spacecraft missions. Bill spent seven years as a senior systems engineer in the NASA Ames Office of the Chief Engineer. Bill served as the Deputy Director and Chief Strategy Officer of the NASA Ames Aeronautics Directorate, when among his other duties he envisioned a Data & Reasoning Fabric to enable autonomous aircraft to provide critical services in complex environments. In 2020, Bill received NASA's highest recognition, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
Bill is learning about exciting new challenges and creative student solutions from his participation in the Stanford Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Program. In return, he is trying to provide some lessons learned from working some of NASA's most exciting and challenging missions.
Stanford Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone Program:
https://me170.stanford.edu -
Phillip Wickham
Adjunct Lecturer, Design Courses
Bio“Entrepreneurs invent the future. It is the hardest job there is, and only about 2-5% of start-ups ever really matter.”
Phil Wickham is a veteran venture and startup entrepreneur, and a Founder and General Partner of Sozo Ventures, a leading firm for bold companies ready for global expansion.
He’s also the emeritus Executive Chairman of the Kauffman Fellows, where he’s helping to develop the next generation of leaders in venture capital. From 2008-2016 he served as the organization’s CEO, and expanded the program into more than 40 countries. He also helped conceive, staff, and seed-fund TrueBridge Capital Partners, and is an emeritus advisor to the Creandum Fund in Stockholm.
In addition to his teaching duties at Stanford, he’s a Visiting Professor at Waseda University’s School of Commerce.
He has been playing competitive tennis for longer than he now cares to admit, and was raised in hockey rinks, where he picked up this bit of wisdom from a bench coach that is useful in almost every situation: “Don’t grip your stick so tight.” -
Jeffrey Robinson Wood
Capstone Course & Lab Projects Development Director, Mechanical Engineering
Current Role at StanfordME Capstone Course and Lab Project Development Director
Jeff is the ME Capstone Course and Lab Projects Development Director, where he brings his 25-year industry experience to the role. He is responsible for the ongoing strategy, design, curriculum plan and instruction plans for capstone courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department, as part of a broad effort to redesign the curriculum requirements for the undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Lecturer, ME170ab - Mechanical Engineering Design: Integrating Context with Engineering
Jeff is a lecturer for the capstone course he has developed, where he brings his extensive experience with the industry product development process to the class. In addition to establishing budget, resource, timeline requirements, Jeff has successfully promoted incorporating themes into the course consistent with the goals of the department and university – to address the pressing needs of human society: energy, sustainability, health, transportation.
Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Mechanical Engineering
Innovation Mentor, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy
