Dr. Thomas Adams

Thom Adams is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, USA. He earned his BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and his MS and PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology, all in Mechanical Engineering. He is the only faculty member in the history of Rose-Hulman to have received all three of the institute’s highest honors, including winning the Outstanding Scholar Award and the Outstanding Teaching Award, and being appointed the Herman A. Moench Distinguished Professor. His early work in single-phase and two-phase heat transfer in microchannels represents some of the seminal work in the field. He later became a leading educator in the field of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and authored a first of its kind textbook on the subject aimed at an audience of undergraduate technical majors regardless of specific discipline. His current research focuses on what he calls “generalist scholarship,” in which physical systems and processes are purposely modeled using the most fundamental concepts and methods available in order to ascertain physical trends and correlations that often go unnoticed when relying solely on the techniques of modern specialized research. His work has received international acclaim, receiving multiple best paper awards for his work in technical research as well as engineering education.