Mamidala Ramulu

Dr. Ramulu Mamidala (M. Ramulu) is a mechanical engineering professor at University of Washington. He was born in the state of Telangana, India. Ramulu Mamidala is recognized for his leadership and outstanding record in promoting collaborative education and research with industry. He is currently the director of Manufacturing Science and Technology Laboratory (MSTL) at Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Washington. He has designed and developed manufacturing methods for a wide range of systems, from the B2 bomber to the Boeing 787. Additionally, in collaboration with industry, he established and directed two interdisciplinary graduate educational programs in engineering and management and a certificate program in composites tooling and manufacturing. His exemplary collaborative efforts motivated working engineers to pursue doctoral studies and he is a leader in using emerging technologies in distance education to reach non-traditional students.

He has been a faculty member in mechanical engineering since 1982, and adjunct professor in Industrial & Systems Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. Over the past 29 years, he has been a devoted mentor, educator, and researcher. He established and directed two graduate educational programs and developed a certificate program in Composite Materials & Manufacturing that serves working aerospace engineers in collaboration with industry.

Mamidala's research interests reflect the multi-disciplinary nature of materials, mechanics and manufacturing engineering, and primarily focuses on aircraft materials and structures. He has very successful research programs in fracture mechanics, fatigue and manufacturing engineering. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Boeing. GE Super Abrasives, Paccar, TRW, Flow International, Quest, Electro Impact. Kyocera, Pacific Northwest Labs, McDonnell Douglas, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. He is an international expert on the machining and surface integrity of composite materials and structures. He received the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award and the Technology Award from Waterjet Technology Association. He has published more than 300 technical papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, edited five ASME Symposium Proceedings and co-edited a book, Machining of Ceramics and Composites. He is one of the founding members of Machining Science and Technology Journal and serves as a member of the editorial boards of five other scientific journals. He is a Fellow of ASM, ASME, SEM and SME.

He has supervised more than 200 graduate students, was awarded the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Engineering Award (1985–86) and was ranked among the top 10 professors at the University of Washington by graduating students in the TYEE yearbook (1986). He was awarded the ASM-IIM International Lectureship Award (1985–86), SAE's Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (1987), ASEE’s AT&T Foundation Award for Excellence in Instruction of Engineering Students (1989); and the Faculty Excellence Award from the Minority Science & Engineering Program (1991). His efforts to foster university—industry collaboration have been recognized with the "Academic Engineer of the Year" Award (1994) from the Puget Sound Engineering Council, Washington, and an Ed Wells Summer Faculty Fellowship from Boeing (1997). For his excellence in online teaching and innovation. he was awarded the 2004 R1.edu Award, and for his contributions to distance education, he won the 2012 Distinguished Contribution to Life-Long Learning Award.

Nominated by Santosh Devasia, University of Washington

Education

Professor Ramulu received a B.E. in mechanical engineering with distinction from Osmania University, India; M.Tech in production engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.He completed his doctoral degree at University of Washington in 1982 under Dr. Kobayashi's guidance.

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Date of Graduation: March 1982
Dissertation: Dynamic Crack Curving and Branching

Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
Master of Technology (MTech) in Production Engineering
Date of Graduation: June 1976
Thesis: Identification and Optimization of Cutting Process

Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Mechanical Engineering with Distinction
Date of Graduation: June 1974

Teaching

He teaches 4-5 undergraduate/graduate courses every calendar year at the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Washington. These courses include mechanics of materials, fracture mechanics, fatigue, and advanced manufacturing processes.

Research

His main research activities focus on solid mechanics, fatigue, fracture mechanics, and their applications in manufacturing engineering, and design and manufacturing of composite materials

Publications

1. Electrical discharge machining of functionally graded 15-35 Vol% SiC p/Al composites Seo, Y.W. (School of Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University Vancouver); Kim, D.; Ramulu, M. Source: Materials and Manufacturing Processes, v 21, n 5, Jun 1, 2006, p 479-487.

2. Facing SiCp/Mg metal matrix composites with carbide tools Pedersen, W. (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 105 VKH, University of Minnesota Duluth); Ramulu, M. Source: Journal of Materials Processing Technology, v 172, n 3, Mar 10, 2006, p 417-423.

3. Waterjet peening at 600MPa: A first investigation. Hashish, M. (Flow International Corporation); Chillman, A.; Ramulu Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fluids Engineering Division (Publication) FED, v 261 FED, 2005, p 45-52.

4. Edge finishing and delamination effects induced during abrasive waterjet machining on the compression strength of a graphite/epoxy composite. Ramulu, M. (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Box 352800, University of Washington); Colligan, K. Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Materials Division (Publication) MD, v 100 MD, Proceedings of the ASME Materials Division 2005, 2005, p 173-179

5. Low-velocity impact response characterization of a hybrid titanium composite laminate Bernhardt, S. (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington); Ramulu, M.; Kobayashi, A.S. Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Materials Division (Publication) MD, v 100 MD, Proceedings of the ASME Materials Division 2005, 2005, p 203-211.

6. Study on the drilling of titanium/graphite hybrid composites. Kim, D. (School of Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University Vancouver); Ramulu, M. Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Materials Division (Publication) MD, v 100 MD, Proceedings of the ASME Materials Division 2005, 2005, p 99-106.

7. Proposed tool wear model for machining particle reinforced metal matrix composites. Pedersen, William E. (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth); Ramulu, M. Source: Transactions of the North American Manufacturing Research Institute of SME, v 33, Transactions of the North American Manufacturing Research Institute of SME - Papers Presented at NAMRC 33, 2005, p 549-556.

Past Students

Dr. Ramulu has successfully supervised over 250 Masters and PhD students so far.

Awards

Dr. Ramulu is a Presidential Young Investigator and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), ASM International, Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) and recently (April, 2007), a Fellow of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). He has been recognized as an outstanding teacher and mentor at the University of Washington. Dr. Ramulu, who has supervised more than 200 graduate students, was awarded the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Engineering Award (1985–86) and was ranked among the top 10 professors at the University of Washington by graduating students in the TYEE yearbook (1986). He was awarded the ASM-IIM International Lectureship Award (1985–86), SAE's Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (1987), ASEE’s AT&T Foundation Award for Excellence in Instruction of Engineering Students (1989); and the Faculty Excellence Award from the Minority Science & Engineering Program (1991). His efforts to foster university—industry collaboration have been recognized with the "Academic Engineer of the Year" Award (1994) from the Puget Sound Engineering Council, Washington, and an Ed Wells Summer Faculty Fellowship from Boeing (1997). For his excellence in online teaching and innovation. he was awarded the 2004 R1.edu Award, and for his contributions to distance education, he won the 2012 Distinguished Contribution to Life-Long Learning Award.He has also won the national youth award.