Gerald Fly

Lecturer

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

gwfeme@rit.edu

585-475-5259

Office Location

GLE-2171

Gerald Fly

Lecturer

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

Education

BS, MS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bio

Gerald Fly received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked for two years at Boeing Airplane Company on the development of digital control systems for turbine- compressor packs. He then spent seven years at Los Alamos National Laboratory developing high temperature thermoelectric modules for Space Reactor Program, analyzing knuckle buckling of reactor contaiment vessels during overpressurization events such as occurred at Three Mile Island, and utilizing finite element codes to model fracture in core support blocks of high temperature gas nuclear reactors. After leaving LANL, he worked for Computational Mechanics Company with Dr. J. Tinsley Oden at the University of Texas developing hybrid stress elements for an adaptive mesh finite element code.

Mr. Fly then went to work for the AC Rochester Division of General Motors developing new test methods for testing internal combustion engine manifold and fuel injector systems. He ran the Vehicle Emission Labs for several years and worked on the development of new test methods for modal speciation of the exhaust. After six years at GM he transferred to the Fuel Cell Activities Group where he developed large scale test facilities for fuel cells. He moved on to the design and development of fuel cell stacks including the development of sophisticated test methods for which he has been awarded numerous patents. He worked on the application of new finite element analyses to model the multidisciplinary electrochemical and thermal processes in the fuel cell as well as new techniques in modeling of metal forming as applied to the stamping of bipolar plates to micron level tolerances. Over his career, Mr. Fly has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications and holds over 60 patents.

gwfeme@rit.edu

585-475-5259

Currently Teaching

MECE-117

Introduction to Programming for Engineers

3 Credits

This course provides the student with an overview of the use of computer programming for solving problems encountered in engineering. Students will learn how to develop an algorithm for solving a problem and to translate that algorithm into computer code using fundamental structured programming techniques. The programming language(s) employed are selected to support computational problem-solving in higher-level mechanical engineering courses.

MECE-301

Engineering Applications Laboratory

2 Credits

As a modification of the more “traditional” lab approach, students work in teams to complete an open-ended project involving theoretical and empirical analyses of an assigned system, applying engineering concepts and skills learned throughout prior courses. After successfully completing this course, students will have achieved a higher level of understanding of, and proficiency in, the tasks of qualitative treatment of real systems, development and implementation of analytical models, design and implementation of experimental investigations, and validation of results.

MECE-497

Multidisciplinary Sr. Design I

3 Credits

This is the first in a two-course sequence oriented to the solution of real-world engineering design problems. This is a capstone learning experience that integrates engineering theory, principles, and processes within a collaborative environment. Multidisciplinary student teams follow a systems engineering design process, which includes assessing customer needs, developing engineering specifications, generating and evaluating concepts, choosing an approach, developing the details of the design, and implementing the design to the extent feasible, for example by building and testing a prototype or implementing a chosen set of improvements to a process. This first course focuses primarily on defining the problem and developing the design, but may include elements of build/ implementation. The second course may include elements of design, but focuses on build/implementation and communicating information about the final design.

MECE-498

Multidisciplinary Sr. Design II

3 Credits

This is the second in a two-course sequence oriented to the solution of real-world engineering design problems. This is a capstone learning experience that integrates engineering theory, principles, and processes within a collaborative environment. Multidisciplinary student teams follow a systems engineering design process, which includes assessing customer needs, developing engineering specifications, generating and evaluating concepts, choosing an approach, developing the details of the design, and implementing the design to the extent feasible, for example by building and testing a prototype or implementing a chosen set of improvements to a process. The first course focuses primarily on defining the problem and developing the design, but may include elements of build/ implementation. This second course may include elements of design, but focuses on build/implementation and communicating information about the final design.

MECE-499

Cooperative Education

0 Credits

Nominally three months of full-time, paid employment in the mechanical engineering field.

MECE-789

Graduate Special Topics

1 - 3 Credits

Topics and subject areas that are not regularly offered are provided under this course. Such courses are offered in a normal format; that is, regularly scheduled class sessions with an instructor.