Des Penny

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, 1975, University of Utah.
M.Sc. Mathematical Physics, 1972, First Class Honors, University College Cork, Ireland.
B.Sc. in Computer Science and Mathematical Physics, First Class Honors, 1971, University College Cork, Ireland.
Registered Professional Structural Engineer, Utah (1984-present)
Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.), Texas (1981).

Professor, Dept. of Integrated Engineering, 2004-present.
Professor, Physical Science Department, Southern Utah University, 1996-2004.
Associate Professor, Physical Science Department, Southern Utah University, 1989-1996.
Visiting Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, 1989-1990.
Assistant Professor, Physical Science Department, Southern Utah State College, 1983-1989. (Granted tenure in 1988)
Assistant Professor, Engineering Department, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, 1976-81.
Lecturer, Department of Mathematical Physics, University College Cork, Ireland, 1975-76.

Structural Engineer, Consultant for Gardiner Partnerships, 1984-1985. I was principal structural engineer for the Holiday Inn, Cedar City .
Structural Engineer, Penn Engineering, Orange, TX, 1981-83. I was involved in the structural steel design of offshore oil rigs .
Labnet Instructor, Dickinson College, Summers of 1989 and 1990. Labnet is an NSF funded project to link physics teachers across the U.S. using telecommunications as an integral part of student projects .
Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Summer 1977. I conducted a theoretical investigation of the properties of permanent memory materials sponsored by the United States Air Force.
Assistant Professor, Physical Science Department, Southern Utah State College, 1983-1989. (Granted tenure in 1988)
Assistant Professor, Engineering Department, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, 1976-81.
Mathematica Consultant, As an Accredited Mathematica Trainer from Wolfram Research, I offer customized training sessions and consultation via the Internet.

Selected Publications:

Rollover of Sport Utility Vehicles, The Physics Teacher 42, February 2004, pp. 3-8.
A Nonuniform Circular-Motion Experiment, The Physics Teacher 38, November 2000, pp. 16-19.

Recent Presentations:

“Stability of Sports Utility Vehicles as a Case Study in Engineering”, ASEE Spring 2004 Meeting, University of Wyoming, April, 2004
“Cornering Dynamics of SUV’s,” AAPT regional conference, Weber State, March 2003
“Investigation of Vehicle Stability,” AAPT-National Meeting, Austin, TX, Jan, 2003
“Traveling Sinusoidal Waves and Work-Energy,” This paper – co-written by my student Jake Zierow and myself, was presented by Jake at the AAPT regional conference, Weber State, March 2003
“A Versatile and Accurate Experiment involving Non Constant Acceleration”, AAPT National Conference, Rochester, NY, July 2001
“A Non-uniform Circular-Motion Experiment “, AAPT Regional Conference, BYU, Feb, 2001
“Mini Projects with Mathematica”, American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), Anaheim, CA, 1999.

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Member
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Member
Honored as Distinguished Educator by Southern Utah University, Commencement Activities, May 2000
AISC: American Institute of Steel Construction, Member

Have been one of the key people involved in our efforts to acquire ABET accreditation for our Integrated Engineering program at SUU.
Have been actively involved in: course and curriculum development and revision, program evaluation and accreditation, and student recruitment.
Have been a member of many academic committees and boards such as the ABET Accreditation Committee for the Integrated Engineering Program, multiple search committees, Department, College and University Leave, Rank and Tenure committees.
Have been a mentor/advisor to physics and engineering students:
Mentored Stan Jensen and Trevor McDonald in their design and construction of a sprayer. 2010-2011.
Mentored Dan Reid and Travis Young in their design of a procedure to maximize profit in a cutting tool. 2010-2011.
Co-wrote paper with Jake Zierow: “Traveling Sinusoidal Waves and Work-Energy.”
Supervised “Physics in Model Rocketry” by Aaron Webber.
Directed Richard Lewis’s project: “Artificial Life in an artificial Physical Environment.”