Sriram Sundararajan receives the ASME Johnson & Johnson Medal
Sriram Sundararajan, associate dean for academic affairs at Iowa State University’s College of Engineering, has received the 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. Medal.
The medal recognizes Sundararajan’s outstanding accomplishments in broadening participation in engineering.
“Sriram champions innovative initiatives that create an environment where all engineering students, faculty and staff can thrive,“ says W. Samuel Easterling, the James L. and Katherine S. Melsa Dean of Engineering. “His commitment to advancing engineering education has positively impacted every facet of our mission – and, indeed, has positively impacted engineering education across the state and nation.”
As associate dean for academic affairs, Sundararajan oversees the college’s academic programs and faculty affairs. He works with academic departments to create well-prepared, collaborative Cyclone Engineers and an engaging community in and out of the classroom.
Sundararajan has also created new first-year scholarship opportunities, launched degree programs, and led recruitment and career placement programming – opening the door for more students to pursue engineering degrees and enter the engineering workforce.
In addition to serving as associate dean, Sundararajan is a professor of mechanical engineering. His research areas encompass multiscale tribology and engineering education and he has authored over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
Throughout his career Sundararajan has led the design and deployment of learning modules for first-year engineering courses, student organizations, faculty and staff committees and more. And he’s designed a graduate course on extending engineering research findings to engage and benefit the public.
Sundararajan was on the leadership team of a 5-year, $20 million National Science Foundation-EPSCoR project to build engineering research and workforce capacity in Iowa. Collaborating with partners at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, Sundararajan led efforts to engage K-12 students and Iowa communities in STEM outreach and develop strategies to recruit, develop and retain STEM faculty.
Sundararajan was also essential to bringing the first National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program to Iowa State’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. For nine years, the REU offered students from across the country hands-on engineering learning opportunities in Iowa State research labs.
Sundararajan is a Fellow of ASME, and he serves the society as an ABET commissioner and a member of the Tribology Division Executive Committee. Sundararajan has been recognized for teaching and research excellence at Iowa State, and he has held multiple leadership roles in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and at the college level, including associate chair positions and college faculty success advisor.
Sundararajan earned a master’s and a PhD degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in Pilani, India.
Department of Mechanical Engineering receives ASME MEDHEC award for expanding engagement and outreach
Iowa State University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers MEDHEC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion award at the ASME Mechanical Engineering Education Summit.
This award honors department-wide efforts to cultivate a working and learning environment where all students, faculty and staff can thrive.
“This recognition is particularly special because it speaks to the importance of a welcoming environment where students from a wide spectrum of experiences and backgrounds can develop their technical and leadership skills in a department where they are valued as individuals and future engineers,” says Caroline Hayes, John and Nancy Hayes Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering.
In recognition of the innovative activities and programs ME conducts to expand the pipeline of engineering students and enhance the department’s culture of excellence and belonging, the ASME award honors two impactful collaborations.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering is in its third year running the Iowa State University chapter of the Engineering Ambassador’s Network (EAN), a student group with a two-fold mission: increasing STEM awareness in K-12 students and building strong undergraduate student leaders.
In those three years, the Iowa State EAN Chapter has partnered with Youth and Shelter Services (YSS)’s Teen Club in Collins-Maxwell and now in Colo-Nesco school districts to build gaga ball pits. Additionally, they worked this year with the Collins-Maxwell group to install both a food pantry box and art gallery box in both towns.
In fall 2022 and 2023, Iowa State’s Department of Mechanical Engineering also hosted the Midwest EAN regional workshop. The meetings connected students from EAN programs in surrounding states, allowing them to share best practices and train in leadership and assertion evidence presentation skills.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering has also supported Iowa State’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a student group, in collaborations with the EWB chapter of KNUST University in Kumasi, Ghana.
Implementation of joint projects in the rural village of Ullo in northern Ghana range from constructing a medical clinic to drilling wells to installing water storage tanks at the Ullo High School, so students spend less time carrying water from distant wells and have more time for studying.
Hayes was part of a group of Iowa State administrators who traveled to Ghana in 2023. Applications from the senior class of engineers at KNUST in spring 2023 will mean a contingent of graduate students from Ghana will be joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering in fall 2024.
“We are incredibly proud of partnerships that foster collaboration and introduce students to Cyclone Engineering,” says Hayes. “We must always expand the ways we recruit future students, so we can supply enough high-quality engineers to meet industry needs.”