Ming Leu named director of UMR’s Intelligent Systems Center
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Dr. Ming Leu, the Keith and Pat Bailey Missouri Distinguished Professor of Integrated Product Manufacturing in the University of Missouri-Rolla’s department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the new director of the UMR Intelligent Systems Center (ISC). The appointment took effect on Oct. 1.
Leu replaces Dr. Vittal S. Rao, the William A. Rutledge Emerson Electric Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMR, who had served as director since 1991.
"I am delighted to be selected as the ISC director," Leu says. "I feel that I can contribute more to UMR’s learning environment, academic reputation, and national ranking by serving as the ISC director to work with many competent, enthusiastic and intelligent colleagues to develop a world-class center in intelligent systems."
Leu received his bachelor of science degree in 1972 from the National Taiwan University, his master of science degree in 1977 from Pennsylvania State University, and his doctorate degree in 1981 from the University of California at Berkeley. All three degrees were in mechanical engineering.
A former faculty member of Cornell University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Leu held the State Chair Professorship in manufacturing productivity at New Jersey Institute of Technology from 1987-1996. He then took a leave of absence to direct the National Science Foundation’s activities in manufacturing processes and equipment, a position he held until 1999.
Leu has received several professional awards, including the UMR Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers’ Research Excellence Award, the Harlan J. Perlis Research Award from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the NSF’s Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Ralph R. Teetor Education Award and the Forest Products Research Society’s Wood Paper Award. In addition, Leu was a member the New Jersey Institute of Technology team that received the University Lead Award from the Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1993 and is a member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and the International Institution for Production Engineering Research.
Leu has authored more than 200 publications in refereed scientific and engineering journals and conference proceedings, and holds three U.S. patents. His technical interests are in the areas of computer-aided design and manufacturing, robotics, mechatronics, rapid prototyping, virtual reality and intelligent manufacturing.
Founded in 1987, the ISC is a major research unit of UMR and includes 25 faculty and 40 graduate students from various academic departments along with support staff and technicians.
