Stephen Malkin
(1941–2013)
Professor Malkin was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. His NAE citation:
“For pioneering research in and the implementation of grinding-system simulation and optimization.”
STEPHEN MALKIN, an internationally renowned guiding force in manufacturing science and a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, passed away on Aug. 19, 2013 at the age of 72.
Steve, as he was generally called, was born in Malden, MA, on June 20, 1941. In high school, Steve was an ambitious student who pushed himself to excel, so it is no surprise that he was admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in 1963.
Steve got a taste of research during his undergraduate studies and decided to attend graduate school at MIT and to specialize in manufacturing engineering. He earned his M.Sc. in 1965, and in 1968 he graduated from MIT with a Sc.D. in Mechanical Engineering.
In 1968, Steve became an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and in 1974 he moved to the University of New York in Buffalo, where he was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1976, he immigrated to Israel, where he was a professor at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology until 1986, when he returned to the U.S. and became a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. From 1987 until 1995, he was Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Program at U-Mass and co-founder of the Center for Manufacturing Productivity, which paired faculty members with small-to-medium-sized manufacturers to enhance productivity and competitiveness. In 1998, Steve was named Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts, and he served as the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from 2000 to 2006.
Steve did a superb job during his two terms as department head. He was a visionary, a leader, and above all, an excellent mentor for younger faculty members, as evidenced by the number of new faculty members who were hired or promoted and nationally and internationally recognized during his tenure.
Steve’s unique style of inclusiveness and impartiality in running the department along with his intellectual and professional rigor can be seen in several new initiatives he introduced, among them the department seminar series and the department cluster groups emphasizing the department’s diversity and richness. During his tenure, the department’s wind energy and human performance programs became internationally prominent and have since been recognized as the two signature programs of the department and of the college. Under his leadership, the department’s human and fiscal resources grew significantly. Many new faculty members were hired, enrollment increased by over 50%, and research expenditures increased by 44%. Steve retired from the University of Massachusetts—Amherst in 2009.
Steve Malkin is the author of a scholarly body of papers on grinding system technology that constitutes the spearhead of innovative research in this field and is the leading light for new research directions in modern grinding optimization technology. He was instrumental in transforming grinding technology from an empirical craft to an applied science by laying the foundation for grinding system theory and developing enabling technologies to improve system efficiency. Steve’s book on Grinding Technology (First Edition 1989. Second Edition, 2008, co-authored by Steve’s former student C. Guo) presents a comprehensive and consistent treatment of grinding theory and its practical aspects. Amazingly, this book has been cited almost 2000 times by other researchers.
A primary objective of Steve’s early research was to develop a fundamental understanding and quantitative models to describe the diverse aspects of grinding, including the mechanics of the process, temperatures, thermal damage to the workpiece, precision, and surface topography. He then realized that this fundamental processing knowledge could be more practically applied by taking a comprehensive systems approach in which the grinding model parameters are updated and intelligent control is utilized to optimize the process. In 1976–1980, Steve and I worked with our joint Ph.D. student, G. Amitai, on designing and demonstrating the world’s-first real-time adaptive control of grinding (published in ASME J. Eng. Ind., 1981). Steve continued this line of research at U-Mass.
Steve developed a virtual manufacturing system that provides quantitative and visual computerized simulation of the process to predict what will occur and to identify the optimal conditions. Malkin’s simulations are currently used in industry. Another approach that Steve pioneered was the coupling of the knowledge base and simulation with intelligent control methodologies to achieve adaptive optimal control of grinding machines.
Among the industries that utilize Steve’s modeling and optimization methodologies are General Motors, Ford Motor Company, SKF, General Electric, Alcoa, Norton, Eaton Corp., United Technologies Pratt and Whitney, Caterpillar, Allied Signal, The Timken Comany, TRW, Warner and Swasey, Iscar Blades, and many others. According to experts, Steve’s original grinding simulation and optimization methodology has saved millions of dollars.
Steve authored 200 scientific papers and supervised 50 graduate students, most of whom now work in high-level engineering positions and management. Steve loved his students and maintained close relationships with them.
Steve was a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). He was a Fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) since 1980. Steve received the ASME William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award, the Gold Medal of SME, and the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award of ASME.
Steve Malkin was honored by the title Doctor Honoris Causa by the Jan Evangelists Purkyne of the Czech Republic. He was an honorary member of the Romanian Society of Mechanical Engineering and an honorary professor at the National Huaqiao University in China. Steve was the R.S. Springer Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lady Davis Visiting Professor and later the Safra Visiting Professor at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Steve continually sought opportunities to serve the community and to advise, lead, and help others. He will be greatly missed.
Steve is survived his beloved wife of 41 yr Maccabit, his son Gonen and his daughter Ruth, his four granddaughters—Noa, Shai, Judith, and Millie—his sister Celia, a nephew, and a niece.
Yoram Koren
Member, National Academy of
Engineering,
J.J. Duderstadt Distinguished
University Professor
Paul Goebel Professor of Engineering,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor,MI 48109
