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By Steven Mackay

BLACKSBURG, Va., September 1, 2009 -- An associate professor with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is among eight mechanical engineering professors to receive the SAE International's Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award.

Dennis Hong received his award at the SAE 2009 World Congress in Detroit. The award, established in 1953, recognizes and honors younger educators who are successfully preparing engineers to meet the challenges that face society.

The award honors the late Ralph R. Teetor, 1936 SAE International president, who believed that engineering educators are the most effective link between engineering students and their future careers. It is funded through the SAE Foundation and administered by the Teetor Educational Award Committee.

Director of the mechanical engineering department's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa), Hong's research focuses on robot locomotion and manipulation, autonomous vehicles and mobile robots, and kinematics and mechanisms.

Among his honors is the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. He also has won several international awards related to his work in robotic competitions.

He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

SAE International is a global association of more than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries.

Read related Virginia Tech News articles on Dennis Hong:

• "Blind can take wheel with vehicle designed by university engineering design team"
• "Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory develops a low cost, dexterous robotic hand operated by compressed air"
• "Team wins international competition with robots designed to save lives of construction workers"

Contact Steven Mackay at smackay@vt.edu or (540) 231-4787.

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