Frederick A. White Distinguished Professor of Professional Service

James A. Menart

James A. Menart, Ph.D., professor of mechanical and materials engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, is the 2020–21 recipient of the Frederick A. White Distinguished Professor of Professional Service.

Since Menart came to Wright State in 1996, he has served the university in nearly every role available to a faculty member. His contributions have spanned graduate and research activities, program oversight and accreditation, curricular development and college leadership.

Menart has chaired the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Steering Committee for multiple years, led accreditation activities for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Higher Learning Commission, and served on university-level committees for buildings, grounds, parking and traffic. He also served as a faculty senator and on the Graduate Council.

Menart recognized that the use of fossil fuels is not sustainable because of limited resources and the detrimental effect they have on the environment. So in 2009 he established the first master’s degree program on renewable and clean energy engineering, collaborating with the University of Dayton, Central State University and the Air Force Institute of Technology.

In addition to directing the master’s degree program in renewable and clean energy, he has served on the state’s University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio, the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge and the Ohio Board of Regents Renewable and Clean Energy Transfer and Articulation Review Panel.

In the area of research, Menart has brought in more than $3 million in external grants, published 27 journal articles, one book chapter, 60 conference papers and countless reports. According to Google Scholar, his papers have been cited 1,694 times.