UA College of Engineering Names New Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department Head

Note to the Editor: To receive a photo of Dr. Charles Karr by e-mail, contact Janice Fink, at jfink@coe.eng.ua.edu.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering recently named Dr. Charles L. Karr as head of the department of aerospace engineering and mechanics.

"The College of Engineering is thrilled that Dr. Karr has agreed to serve as head of aerospace engineering and mechanics; he brings to the position a wonderful background of research and teaching," said Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of the College of Engineering. "His vision and leadership of the department will foster its growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollment and scholarship."

Karr is a graduate of UA, completing his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering in 1984 and his master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering mechanics in 1987 and 1989, respectively. After receiving his doctorate, he spent seven years working as a research engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Tuscaloosa Research Center.

While working at the Bureau, Karr maintained a relationship with UA by serving as a part-time instructor in both the engineering mechanics and the aerospace engineering departments. He joined the faculty full time in 1995 as an assistant professor, and was promoted to associate professor in 1999.

Considered a leading expert in the area of intelligent systems, Karr is the author of three books and 19 book chapters, and he has published 34 refereed journal articles and more than 90 conference papers. He has become widely known for his pioneering work in combining genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic, and he has successfully applied these techniques in the aerospace, mineral processing, manufacturing and steel industries. In addition, he holds two international patents in the area of intelligent systems for locating the source of radio signals.

Karr has received several awards and has been involved with numerous professional societies. He was the Engineer of the Year for the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Tuscaloosa Research Center in 1990, and the Young Scientist of the Year for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s Industrial Minerals Division in 1991; he received the Outstanding Young Engineer Award from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s Mineral and Metallurgical Processing Division in 1993; and he was named the Bureau of Mines Technology Transfer Person of the Year in 1993.

Since beginning his career at the University, Karr has consistently been recognized for his teaching abilities, winning the Charles Henry Ratcliff Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Engineering Mechanics Teaching five times, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Outstanding Faculty Member Award twice. He has been actively involved with the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, the American Filtration Society, and the North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society.