On July 31, Professors Bill Hamel and Majid Keyhani officially retired from the university after 26 and 36 years, respectively, of loyal service and dedication to the department.
Bill Hamel
Hamel was hired as an associate professor in 1993, after working for 21 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and was promoted to full professor in 1995. In 2004 he stepped in to lead MABE as interim department head and in 2005 was permanently appointed department head, a position he held until 2013.
His fondest time at UT is when he was department head and was expected to raise research productivity in the department.
“Many existing faculty at that time worked hard to expand their research and we were blessed to hire many new outstanding faculty like Dean Mench, who began to do their part in changing the culture,” said Hamel. “It was very rewarding to be a part of reshaping MABE into the highly successful department it is today.”
During his tenure, he taught many undergraduate- and graduate-level classes and enjoyed teaching ME 586 Robot Mechanics the most. He also taught senior design classes and enjoyed sharing his industrial design and management experience with the project teams and encouraging them to do their very best in the project designs and prototype demonstrations.
Since 1999, Hamel has graduated a total of 14 PhD students (including the students graduating later this fall) and advised 39 graduate students who received master’s degrees. His students now hold positions in industry, government laboratories, and academia, and some have successfully started companies.
Hamel has received numerous awards and recognitions over the years, most notably being elected a fellow of both the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
After so many years working in one department, it goes without saying there will be things he will miss.
“I think I am going to miss the atmosphere and daily interaction with students the most,” said Hamel. “While there have been some frustrations along the way, it has been intellectually challenging and energizing. The positive outlook that students generally have is contagious. The opportunity to work directly with students was the biggest reason I decided to leave Oak Ridge National Laboratory and join the faculty.”
Hamel and his wife, Libby, will be moving to Viera, Florida, next year to be close to their son. He plans to do some woodworking and possibly take art lessons to fill his free time.
With his last few PhD students set to graduate this fall, Hamel will be on campus for several more months working part time as a research professor while supporting and advising the students through their PhD defenses.
Majid Keyhani
Keyhani was hired as an assistant professor in 1985 and was promoted to associate professor in 1990 and to full professor in 1995.
He loved teaching and will miss that the most during retirement.
“I taught several undergraduate and graduate classes over the years, and loved teaching a senior mechanical engineering lab course and my graduate-level thermal systems analysis course the most,” said Keyhani. “Teaching and preparing my students to be world-class engineers is something I have always taken pride in and will greatly miss.”
Keyhani graduated eight PhD students who are now working in academia, research labs, and high-level positions in research and development at major US tech companies, and 15 thesis-option master’s students whose research work was published in archival journals. He also advised 28 very talented undergraduate students.
Some of Keyhani’s notable accomplishments during his time at UT include helping create the MS–MBA dual degree program for mechanical engineering majors, being elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and becoming the first elected chair of UT’s Graduate Council, which is one of his fondest memories.
Keyhani plans to spend retirement traveling and writing.