Associate Professor Frank E. Wicks has been elected a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the highest elected grade of the society.
The College honored Wicks during a ceremony Friday, Oct. 5 in Everest Lounge organized by Cherrice Traver, dean of Engineering.
Less than 3 percent of the nearly 120,000 members of ASME are fellows, who are elected by the ASME Board of Directors. Selection is based on significant engineering achievements and contributions to the mechanical engineering profession.
Wicks was nominated by Nancy Deloye Fitzroy, a former president of ASME who has served as an advisor to Union's student chapter. Deloye Fitzroy, who is also an engineer, established a scholarship at Union for talented electrical engineering students and dedicated the Deloye Fitzroy House on Seward Place in honor of her late husband, Roland V. Fitzroy Jr. '43.
“This award was made possible because of Nancy, Union and my education,” said Wicks, who joined Union’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 1988. He received his bachelor's degree in marine engineering from New York Maritime College and his master's degree in electrical engineering from Union. He also holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from RPI.
“Union has been good to me as a student and faculty member, and provided me with opportunities to grow. And, of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my wife, Virginia, for her support and encouragement,” added Wicks.
Wicks has published dozens of technical papers on such topics as electric machinery and systems, machine tools, telescopes and rockets. He has developed and patented more fuel efficient systems for power, heating and air conditioning, and he received the ASME Energy Resources and Technology Innovation Award for the invention of residential size electricity-producing condensing furnace.
For more information on Union’s nationally ranked, ABET-accredited Mechanical Engineering program, call (518) 388-6264.