New OSU Hire Brings "Bio-Inspired" Engineering To Campus

Story Posted: Mon, Nov 17, 2003

By Gregg Kleiner, 541-737-9684
SOURCES: Belinda King, 737-3614

CORVALLIS - The College of Engineering at Oregon State University has hired Belinda King as its new Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. King brings program development expertise and a growing interest in a research area known as "micro air vehicles," flying devices with wingspans of less than 24 inches that are capable of winging through earthquake damaged buildings to search for survivors, locating lost or injured hikers in inhospitable terrain and attaching radio transmitters in challenging conditions.

Dr. Belinda B. King, new department head for the OSU Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

King, who worked as an assistant and associate professor in the OSU Department of Mathematics between 1993 and 1998, returns to OSU after spending five years as a professor of mathematics at Virginia Tech. During the past two years, King also served as Program Manager of Dynamics and Control at the Mathematics and Space Sciences Directorate of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).

Her experience at the AFOSR offered her invaluable insight into modern engineering research trends and prompted her to "reboot her career" into engineering, King said.

"That job allowed me to transition into having an identity as an engineer and provided me with the experience necessary to return to Oregon State and join the College of Engineering," King said. "The Department of Mechanical Engineering here is primed for change. We have bright young professors with energy and enthusiasm working in exciting research areas. The opportunity to lead the department at this time in its history is energizing."

King's plans include expanding the department's research in materials science, autonomous vehicles, and other areas, and collaborating closely with other departments and colleges at OSU.

"I'm into building interdisciplinary ties, not only across engineering departments, but across colleges and out into industry," King said.

Another research area that King wants to develop is "bio-inspired" engineering concepts. "We can learn a lot by looking at how biological systems do things," she said. "Applying this knowledge to engineering helps us develop new devices that do things very efficiently."

King holds degrees in applied mathematics and mathematical sciences, and is OSU's first woman department head in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and one of only a few women in the U.S. who head engineering departments.

"I'm excited to be back at Oregon State," she said. "I missed the quality of life, the university and the students here."