Rorrer named chair of mechanical engineering

Associate professor Ron Rorrer has been named chair for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, effective July 1, 2021.

Since joining the college in 1997, Rorrer has developed and taught a large number of required and elective courses, including Mechanical Design I, Senior Design I and II, Mechanical Systems Design, Design with Polymers and Composites, Fundamentals of Tribology, Vibrations, Mechanisms, Science of Guitars, Dynamics, Intermediate Dynamics, Rigid Body Dynamics, Biomechanics, Vibrations, and Vehicle Instrumentation. He has also mentored students in countless independent study projects and master’s projects/theses.  He has secured about $1.5M in extramural funding as PI since joining CU Denver, as well as much more as co-PI. He is widely regarded as being enthusiastically collaborative.

Prior to joining CU Denver he worked in industry as a Mechanical Design Engineer (Martin Marietta) and an Advanced Technology Project Leader (Gates Rubber Company).  During his time in industry Rorrer served as an adjunct faculty member at CU Denver and at the Colorado School of Mines. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.

While at CU Denver Rorrer has worked regularly with companies on many challenging design and product development efforts.  He has published many technical papers, as well as articles on personal and professional development in Mechanical Engineering Magazine, and he has written a textbook, Engineering Design with Polymers and Composites (CRC Press, 2012, 2nd ed.), with professor emeritus James Gerdeen,. 

Rorrer follows associate professor Sam Welch, who served as mechanical engineering department chair for 13 years.  Over his tenure, Welch led the department through many significant transitions, including the addition of the PhD program, the pre-engineering program, the expansion of research enterprise and facilities, and the recruiting of an outstanding cadre of faculty.