Summer 2005
Faculty Profile: Mark R. Schumack, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Sustainable
energy use is the main teaching and research interest of Associate Professor
of Mechanical Engineering Mark Schumack, who has “wrapped the theme
of energy conservation into courses in thermodynamics, heat transfer and energy-conservation
systems.”
Most recently, he incorporated “service learning” into a heat
transfer class. “My students installed energy-saving materials like
plastic storm windows and door sweeps in the homes of people who have applied
for energy assistance,” he explains. “After the installations,
the students calculate the estimated energy savings, as well as reflect on
their experiences. My goals are to give students practical experience in heat
transfer phenomena, impress on them the importance of energy conservation
and give them an opportunity to help the less fortunate.”
Schumack joined UDM in 1991 as an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering
after receiving his doctorate in ME that year from the University of Michigan,
where he also earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. From 1982-86, he
worked as design engineer with Cleveland (OH) Electric Illuminating Company
with responsibilities including design of reactor coolant systems at a nuclear
power plant. He previously had served as a research assistant at Eindhoven
University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he returned in 1998 to
teach a seminar at the Energy Research Center.
Schumack chaired UDM’s Mechanical Engineering Department from 1999 to
mid-2002, and continues as an associate professor and supervisor of the Heat
Transfer and Fluid Mechanics laboratories. He has been the College Assessment
Coordinator since 2003 for UDM’s accreditation by the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology. His honors include the UDM Faculty Achievement
Award in 1997 and Engineering Teacher of the Year four times.
He chairs the Energy Conversion and Conservation Division of the American
Society for Engineering Education. He also is involved with the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers and the Engineering Society of Detroit. He has authored
a number of publications and presentations and served as a research investigator.
In addition to two daughters who attend UDM (Marie will begin law school in
the fall, Nicky majors in psychology and education), Schumack and his wife
have four children whom they adopted in 1996 after serving as their foster
parents.
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