Bio
Dr. Cornwell currently teaches at the United States Air Force Academy and is an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Dr. Cornwell served as Vice President for Academic Affairs for four years. He was responsible for all academic programs and provides leadership in forming an academic vision and developing short- and long-term strategies to realize that vision. Dr. Cornwell received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University in 1985 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1987 and 1989, respectively. Dr. Cornwell joined the Rose-Hulman faculty in 1989. He was one of the developers of the Rose-Hulman Sophomore Curriculum, an innovative approach to teaching engineering science that was developed as part of the NSF funded Foundation Coalition. Dr. Cornwell is a strong advocate for the use of technology in the undergraduate engineering curriculum.
Dr. Cornwell received an SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award in 1992, and he has received the two highest awards at Rose-Hulman: the Dean’s Outstanding Teacher award in 2000 and the Board of Trustee’s Outstanding Scholar Award in 2001. Dr. Cornwell was one of the professors featured in the Princeton Review’s book called The Best 300 Professors. In 2019 Dr. Cornwell received the Archie Higdon Distinguished Educator Award from the Mechanics Division of ASEE.
Dr. Cornwell spent many summers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was a mentor in the Los Alamos Dynamics Summer School and did research in the areas of structural health monitoring, energy harvesting, vibration monitoring of femoral components, and micromotion of cementless implants. In 2006, Dr. Cornwell joined the author team for one of the oldest and best-selling engineering mechanics texts of all time, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics by Beer and Johnston. Following the death of Russ Johnston in 2010, he has assumed primary responsibility for updating and improving the book.
Education
Ph.D., Princeton University, October 1989, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton, NJ.
M.A., Princeton University, June 1987, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton, NJ.
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, Texas Tech University, May 1985, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lubbock, TX. GPA = 4.0/4.0. Highest Ranking Graduate in the College of Engineering.
Professional Experience
United States Air Force Academy, USAFA, Colorado Professor, July 2022 – Present, Associate Professor, July 2019 – June 2022, Mechanical Engineering Department.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana Professor, July 2001 – June 2019, Associate Professor, July 1994 – June 2001, Assistant Professor, August 1989 – June 1994, Mechanical Engineering Department.
Vice President for Academic Affairs, July 2011 – June 2015. As chief academic officer I was responsible for all academic programs, faculty recruitment, promotion, retention, and accreditation. I also provided leadership in forming an academic vision and developing short- and long-term strategies to realize that vision. Rose-Hulman is a private engineering college with approximately 2200 students.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Engineering Insititute, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Q-cleared. Visiting Faculty Member, Summers 1990 – 1992, 1997 – 2011, 2020 – 2021, Long Term Visiting Staff Member, July 1995 – June 1996, March 2003 – August 2003. I have worked primarily in the area of structural health monitoring, that is, detecting damage in structures using changes in their vibration characteristics. I was also a lecturer and mentor in the Los Alamos Dynamics Summer School (LADSS) for many years. I have advised projects in the areas of energy harvesting, vibration monitoring of femoral components, and micromotion of cementless implants.
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. Assistant in Instruction: Applied Aeronautics I and II, 1988 and Aerospace Structures, 1987. Assistant in Research, September 1988 – July 1989.
Continuing Education
Harvard Institute for Educational Management (IEM), June 21st – July 3rd, 2012.
ACE Institute for New Chief Academic Officers, 2013 – 2014 (three sessions).
Sabbaticals
Los Alamos National Laboratory (July 1995 – June 1996)
The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia (August 2002 – January 2003), Los Alamos National Laboratory (March 2003 – August 2003)
The University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom (January 2010 – March 2010)
United States Air Force Academy (July 2016 – May 2017)
Honors & Awards
Archie Higdon Distinguished Educator Award, 2019. This award is awarded annually by the Mechanics Division of ASEE for distinguished and outstanding contributions to engineering mechanics education.
In 2012 I was selected to appear in the Princeton Review’s book called The Best 300 Professors.
Best paper awards, Mechanics Division, 2001, 2004, and 2005 at ASEE Annual Conferences.
Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2001. This is the highest award for scholarly activities at Rose-Hulman.
Dean’s Outstanding Teacher Award, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2000. This is the highest award for excellence in teaching at Rose-Hulman, a school dedicated to excellence in teaching. The school only gives this award to one faculty member each year, and it can only be won once.
Rose-Hulman Triangle Fraternity's Teacher of the Year Award, 1994.
Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, February 1993. This award was given by SAE to 22 engineering faculty in the nation. The award was given to “outstanding young engineering educators.” The criteria for selection were significant contributions to teaching, research and student development.
Paper award for the 1993 ASEE IL-IN Section Conference, March 1993.
ASME Aerospace Division Award for “the outstanding paper presented at the 30th AIAA/ASME/ ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference,” April 1990.
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, August 1985 – July 1988.
Guggenheim Fellowship, Princeton University, 1985 – 1986.
Texas Tech Ex-Students Association Award for being the highest-ranking graduate in the College of Engineering, May 1985.
Research and Scholarly Interests
Structural dynamics and vibrations,
Structural health monitoring,
Engineering education
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Meneghini, R.M., M. Guthrie, H. Moore, D. Abou-Trabi, P. Cornwell and A. Rosenberg,“A Novel Method for Prevention of Intraoperative Fracture in Cementless Hip Arthroplasty: Vibration Analysis During Femoral Component Insertion,” Surgical Technology International, Vol. 20, 2010, pp. 334-339.
Cornwell, P., J. Goethals, J. Kowtko, M. Damianakis, “Enhancing Power Harvesting Using a Tuned Auxiliary Structure,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, 16(10), October 2005, pp. 825-834.
Giardini, S., P.J. Cornwell, R.M. Meneghini, “Monitoring Femoral Component Installation using Vibration Testing,” Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, Volume 41, 2005, pp. 13-18.
Cornwell, P.J., C.R. Farrar, S.W. Doebling, and H. Sohn, “Environmental Variability of Modal Properties,” Experimental Techniques, Nov./Dec. 1999, pp. 45-48.
Cornwell, P.J., J.M. Fine, “Mechanics in the Rose-Hulman Foundation Coalition Sophomore Curriculum,” International Journal of Engineering Education. Vol. 16, No. 5, 2000, pp. 441-446.
Cornwell, P.J., S.W. Doebling and C.R. Farrar, “Application of the Strain Energy Damage Detection Method for Plate-Like Structures,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, 225(2), July 1999, pp. 359-374.
Cornwell, P.J. “Teaching Dynamics Using Modern Tools,” Computers in Education Journal, OctDec. 1996.
Roenneke, A., and P. J. Cornwell, “Trajectory Control for a Low-Lift Re-Entry Vehicle,” Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 16, No. 5, 1993, pp. 927-933.
Cornwell, P. J. and O.O. Bendiksen, “A Numerical Study of Vibration Localization in Disordered Cyclic Structures,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 30, No. 2, Feb. 1992, pp. 473-481.
Cornwell, P. J., and O.O. Bendiksen, “Impulse Response of Space Reflectors with Localized Modes,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 29, No. 4, July-August 1992, pp. 484-490.
Cornwell, P. J. and O.O. Bendiksen, “Localization of Vibrations in Large Space Reflectors,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2, Feb. 1989, pp. 219-226.
Invited Papers
Cornwell, P.J., “Vibrations Education: Striving for a Resonance in Learning,” Sound and Vibration Magazine, Nov. 2007.
Farrar, C.R. and P.J. Cornwell, “The Los Alamos Dynamics Summer School,” Sound and Vibration Magazine, April 2002.
Brinson, C., P.J. Cornwell, R.S. Engel, D.J. Inman, “Integrating Software into the Mechanical Systems Curriculum,” ASME ME Department Heads Meeting: Drivers and Strategies of Major Program Change, March 26-29, 2000, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Gray, G.L., D. Evans, P. Cornwell, F. Costanzo, B. Self, “The Dynamics Concept Inventory Test as a Means of Assessing Curricular Innovations,” McMat 2005 Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, June 1-3, 2005.
Books
Beer, F.P., E. R. Johnston, P. J. Cornwell, B.P. Self, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, 12th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2018.
Beer, F.P., E. R. Johnston, P. J. Cornwell, B.P. Self, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, 11th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2015.
Beer, F.P., E. R. Johnston, P. J. Cornwell, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, 10th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Beer, F.P., E. R. Johnston, P. J. Cornwell, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Beer, F.P., E. R. Johnston, W.E. Clausen, P. J. Cornwell, Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, 8th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Book Chapters/Contributions
P. J. Cornwell, “Looking for a Cost-Effective Approach to Bringing Company Ideas to Reality? Try Students!” in Advancing a Jobs-Driven Economy: Higher Education and Business Partnerships Lead the Way, Morgan James, 2015.
Farrar, C.R., P.J. Cornwell, N.F. Hunter, N.A.J. Lieven, “Sensing and Data Acquisition Issues for Damage Prognosis,” in Damage Prognosis: For Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Systems, D.
Inman, C.R. Farrar, V. Lopes, and V. Steffen editors, John Wiley and Sons, 2005.