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The University of Tennessee College of Engineering 120 Perkins Hall Knoxville, TN 37996-2012 |
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| Newsletter
of the UT, Knoxville College of Engineering |
Faculty Focus–Dr. Belle Upadhyaya
Diversity and dedication to research have been keys to success for Dr. Belle Upadhyaya, professor of nuclear engineering. Although his education background was not specifically in this area, during his doctoral program at the University of California at San Diego, Upadhyaya worked at nearby General Atomic Company. After receiving his doctorate in 1975, Upadhyaya accepted a position in UTK's nuclear engineering department as a post-doctoral research associate with Dr. Tom Kerlin. Three years later, Upadhyaya became an NE assistant professor. "My background in systems engineering has given me opportunities to work with many different industries outside the nuclear engineering community," Upadhyaya said. "Long-term relationships with industry partners has mutual benefits beyond the monetary support. These partnerships result in cost-effective engineering solutions for industry challenges, and at the same time, provide invaluable experience and management skills to students as well as faculty." 
Upadhyaya has been involved in research and development activities with Fisher-Rosemount, Duke Energy, TVA, ALCOA, the Electric Power Research Institute and many others. His classroom presentations are enriched by examples he includes from real data and solutions from industrial systems. Along with several colleagues, Upadhyaya has helped develop new courses and innovative teaching approaches as part of a National Science Foundation-sponsored project with the Maintenance and Reliability Center. Another recent research endeavor involves fault detection and isolation of field devices by taking measurements from different components in a process. This technique may be used to pinpoint the origins of process or device problems. The ground-breaking study in this area by Upadhyaya and his students will eventually lead to online data processing techniques for fault detection and to the development of smart devices. "Integrating research and teaching encourages students to get involved in research during their undergraduate studies," Upadhyaya said. "This exposure to research projects at an early stage in their professional training enables them to acquire advanced engineering skills while increasing their creativity. "I'd like to see UT's College of Engineering become a leader in cooperative research and education with industry and national laboratories," he said. "We are heading in that direction." Dr. H. Lee Dodds, head of the nuclear engineering department, applauds Upadhyaya's commitment to both teaching and research. "In addition to being one of the most prolific researchers in the department and probably the college, Dr. Upadhyaya has outstanding personality traits," Dodds said. "Specifically, he is the kindest person I've ever had the pleasure of working with." Upadhyaya has received numerous awards and honors for his achievements in and out of the classroom. Most recently, in 1998 he was awarded the Moses E. and Mayme Brooks College of Engineering Distinguished Professor Award as well as the Chancellor's Award for Research and Creative Achievement. He has published more than 250 articles and technical reports in addition to chapters in books and he has also served as co-editor of symposia proceedings. Upadhyaya and his wife, Nimmi, a physician at UT Medical Center, stay busy outside of their professional responsibilities with outdoor activities, experimenting with photography and chauffeuring their 7-year-old son, Kiran, to soccer games. |