Gordon Kirk honored with emeritus status
Gordon Kirk, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of “professor emeritus” by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and associate professors, administrative officers, librarians, and exceptional staff members who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1985, Kirk’s research has led to a better understanding of rotating machinery. His work in mechanical vibrations focused on bearing and seal excited instabilities.
He authored or co-authored more than 175 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, four patents and one patent pending, book chapters, and reviews. He frequently served as a reviewer for national and international journals and funding agencies.
Kirk served as the director of the Virginia Tech Rotor Dynamics Industry Affiliates Group for 27 years. He was elected as Fellow in both American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.
Kirk received the Best Paper and Best Presentation Award in 2000, and Best Paper Award again in 2012 at the International Institution of Mechanical Engineers conference series, Vibrations in Rotating Machinery.
He taught both undergraduate and graduate-level courses in the mechanical design and controls area. Kirk advised 25 master's degree and seven doctoral degree dissertations, and helped students develop successful careers in both academic and industrial settings.
Kirk received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctoral degree from the University of Virginia.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
