Page 2 - ME Newsletter Spring

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4 6 8
12 • Entrepreneurial Alumni
15 • Crash Ryan’s Impact
16 • In Memoriam
18 • Donor Thank You
• Department Head Update • Inventive Learning
• Innovative Faculty
Spring 2024
cse.umn.edu/me
Department Head
Susan Mantell
Editor/Designer/Writer
Maura Dunst
Printing
University Printing Services
Published by the
Department of Mechanical Engineering for alumni, students, and friends of the department.
©2024 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. UMN is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
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ON THE COVER
James “Crash” Ryan got his nickname because of his work developing the automatic retractable seat belt. In 1957, he made headlines for crashing cars as part of his academic research. In 1963, Ryan patented the first seat belt that tightens on impact, which eventually became standard in vehicles
worldwide. Read more about Ryan and his inventions on page 15.
ME’s James J. Ryan Chair belongs to the department head, a role that is changing hands in summer 2024. Read about our outgoing department head and the professor taking the baton on pages 4-5.
On the cover: Ryan conducts an experiment involving dropping a car from a crane in 1957.
Above: The car makes impact.
2 ME News Spring 2024