Sutherland Named Henes Chair Professor

John W. Sutherland has been named the first Richard W. and Elizabeth A. Henes (pronounced hen-ess) Chair Professor.

Sutherland, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, came to Michigan Tech in 1991. He has served as his department's associate chair and director of graduate studies and is among only three faculty members in the history of the University to receive both its Distinguished Teaching Award (1992) and its Research Award (2000).

The Henes Chair Professor was established in the ME-EM department in January 2002 by Richard and Elizabeth Henes, of Phoenix, Ariz. Mr. Henes, a native of Menominee, graduated from MTU in 1948.

"This is the first endowed chair in our department, and Dr. Sutherland is the first chair holder," said William Predebon, professor and ME-EM department chair. "John is one of the most productive faculty members at Michigan Tech in terms of his contributions in research, graduate student advising, faculty mentoring and service to his profession."

Sutherland is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of environmentally responsible manufacturing and quality engineering. Among the University's most prolific researchers, he has been an investigator on nearly $10 million in sponsored research and has graduated more than 50 PhD and master's students. He has published more than 150 papers and coauthored the widely used textbook "Statistical Quality Design and Control."

Among his many honors, he was named the 1992 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and in 1999 received the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers. He received the NSF CAREER Development Award in 1995 and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 1996.

Universities often undertake national searches to find qualified candidates for endowed chairs. That wasn't necessary in this case, Predebon said.

"Often, you search around the country for the best person to fill an endowed chair," he said. "We already had the best in our department, for which I am very grateful. I look forward to him providing leadership in research and scholarly activities well into the future."

The Heneses are longtime supporters of Michigan Tech. After earning his BS in Mechanical Engineering from MTU, Richard Henes received a bachelor of law degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and in 1958 went on to found Henes Stamping Inc., in Phoenix. He also served as president of Henes Manufacturing Company and Henes Products Company. Elizabeth Henes is a native of Peshtigo, Wis.

Source: MTU News (Original Article)