MTU Mechanical Engineering Professor Honored by SAE International with Forest R. McFarland Award

A Michigan Tech assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics is among those being honored with awards from SAE Engineering.

Houghton resident Dr. Darrell Robinette was one of 26 mobility engineering professionals to win the 2019 Forest R. McFarland Award.

Honorees are recognized for their outstanding, sustained contributions to support SAE Engineering Events.

Robinette is currently an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University, a position held since August of 2016.

Previously, Robinette worked at General Motors Powertrain/Global Propulsion Systems from August 2007 until July 2016 with various roles in transmission, NVH, electrification and calibration engineering groups. Darrell holds 15 US patents from his time at GM and has published 15 SAE conference and/or journal papers.

As a primary author or co-author, Robinette has 6 papers for the 2019 SAE World Congress Experience and another 2 in progress for the 2019 SAE Noise and Vibration Conference to be held in June.

Robinette has a total of 34 published journal, conference or invited talks and presentations in the area of transmission, NVH and electrification engineering. Darrell has been a member of SAE since 2007, served on the Transmission & Driveline committee since 2015, co-organizing the Transmission & Driveline NVH session at World Congress.

Robinette was a volunteer mentor for FIRST Robotics, Team 67 in Michigan from 2011 through 2016.

Robinette is currently the co-advisor for Michigan Technological University’s SAE-GM AutoDrive Challenge team. Darrell earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in May of 2007.

Established in 1979, the Forest R. McFarland Award is administered by SAE Engineering Events and honors the late Forest R. McFarland who was himself an outstanding session organizer, a chairman of the Passenger Car Activity and a member of the Engineering Meetings Board. Funding for this award is through a bequest by McFarland to SAE and consists of a framed certificate presented at an appropriate event.

The 2019 Forest R. McFarland Award winners:
 Carlos Agudelo – Link Engineering Company
 Dr. Jim Barker – Innospec
 Dr. Kirby Baumgard – John Deere Power Systems
 Dr. Matt Castanier, U.S. Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC)
 Dr. Reuben M. Chandrasekharan – Bombardier Learjet
 Ray Corbin – AVL Michigan Holding Corporation
 Dr. Sara Dadras – Ford Motor Company
 Dr. Soodeh Dadras – Utah State University
 Paul Robert Davies – Boeing
 Dr. Yichao Guo – FCA US LLC
 Andrew Ickes – Chevron Energy Technology Company
 Richard Sheng – COMAC
 Dr. Michael D. Kass – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
 Eric Krivitzky – Thermofluid Research Laboratory
 Dr. Sotirios Mamalis – Stony Brook University
 Ezio Mancaruso – Istituto Motori CNR
 Rachel L. Muncrief – International Council on Clean Transportation
 Jian Pan – Gissing Automotive Systems, LLC
 Darrell Robinette – Michigan Technological University
 Dr. Corina Sandu – Virginia Tech
 Rini Sherony – Toyota Motor North America (TMNA)
 Anand Srinivasan – Cummins
 Jian Tao – FCA US LLC
 Curtis Vincent – Honeywell (formerly of General Motors)
 Prof Yunqing Zhang – Huazhong University of Science and Technology
 Dr. Feng Zhu – Embry Riddle Aeronautical University