UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Chris Rahn, associate dean for innovation and professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been appointed the J. "Lee" Everett Professor in the mechanical and nuclear engineering department.
Created in 2007 with financial support from James "Lee" Everett III, a Penn State mechanical engineering alumnus and former director of Lockheed Martin Corp., the Everett Professorship is intended to support a mechanical and nuclear engineering faculty member's efforts in teaching, research and public service.
“The J. ‘Lee’ Everett Professorship is truly an honor to receive. It is very gratifying to be recognized for many years of working with students and colleagues to advance engineering research,” Rahn said. “I am now more motivated than ever to extend my research into new fields, develop new collaborations, build teams to go after large funding opportunities, and educate the next generation of engineers.”
Rahn is the director of Penn State's Mechatronics Research Laboratory and co-director of the Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center. His research in the modeling, analysis, design and control of mechatronic systems has been supported by the Office of Naval Research; Air Force Office of Scientific Research; U.S. Army; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; National Science Foundation; Department of Energy; National Institutes of Health; Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and industry; and has garnered awards from the Department of Defense; Clemson University; Penn State; and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
An ASME Fellow, he has published two books, over two hundred refereed publications, and holds several patents. Rahn earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and his master's and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining Penn State in 2000, he was a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University.
Everett received his Bachelor of Science in 1948 and his Master of Science in 1949. He would ultimately serve as chairman and CEO of Philadelphia Electric Co. Early in his career, he was among the first engineers to get involved in nuclear energy and helped develop the Enrico Ferme I, a sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor on Lake Erie. He also guided Philadelphia Electric's involvement in nuclear power, and was an integral part of the research, development, planning, maintenance and operation of numerous other plants, including a high-temperature, helium-cooled plant (Peach Bottom I) and boiling-water reactors (Peach Bottoms II and III).