Vijay K. Dhir Named Honorary Member of ASME

NEW YORK, November 20, 2012 — Vijay K. Dhir, Ph.D., a resident of Santa Monica, Calif., and distinguished professor and dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), was honored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He was recognized for pioneering scientific and engineering contributions to boiling heat transfer, nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and safety; for contributions to industry as a consultant; for significantly influencing engineering education through academic leadership; and for continued exceptional service to the mechanical engineering profession. He received Honorary Membership in ASME.

First awarded in 1880, the founding year of the Society, Honorary Membership recognizes a lifetime of service to engineering or related fields. The award was conferred on Dr. Dhir at the Society's annual Honors Assembly, which was held in conjunction with ASME's 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, held in Houston, Nov. 9 through 15.

Dhir joined the faculty at UCLA in 1974. A distinguished professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, he has been dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (UCLA Engineering) since March 2003. Under Dhir's leadership, UCLA Engineering has become an internationally recognized hub for interdisciplinary research and education.

Dhir also leads the Boiling Heat Transfer Laboratory, where pioneering work in fundamental and applied sciences involving boiling, an efficient process of heat removal, is conducted, including the study of flow boiling, micro-gravity boiling and nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics. Since 1999, a team of researchers led by Dhir has been taking part in a NASA research program to examine the effects of microgravity on boiling and it recently completed experiments on the International Space Station. Forty Ph.D. students and 50 master's students have graduated under Dhir's supervision.

For the past 30 years he has been a consultant for numerous organizations, including corporations and government agencies. Recently Dhir completed his service to the National Research Council's Steering Committee on the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space. He currently serves on the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, and Fukushima Lessons Learned Committee.

Dhir is the author/co-author of more than 300 papers published in archival journals and conference proceedings. He holds one patent.

An ASME Fellow, Dhir has served in various capacities ranging from associate editor for a symposium volume (1978) and Student Section advisor for the UCLA Student Section (1983-84) to chair of the Heat Transfer Division's K-13 Heat Transfer in Multiphase Systems Committee (1984-87) and Honors and Awards Committee (1998-99). He has served as associate editor (1993-96) and senior technical editor (2000-05) of ASME's Journal of Heat Transfer.

Dhir is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the American Society for Engineering Education, and a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Dhir earned three degrees in mechanical engineering: his bachelor's degree at Punjab Engineering College (Chandigarh, India) in 1965; his master's degree at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1968; and his Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, in 1972. Dhir also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Kentucky in 2012.

About ASME ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.