D. L. Brown
Dr. Brown is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and the Director Emeritus of UC-SDRL. From 1970-2005, under Dr. Brown's leadership, the UC-SDRL has become a world famous research laboratory in the area of experimental structural dynamics, acoustics, controls and vibration. The laboratory has graduated many students to industry and other universities, specializing in Fourier analysis and digital signal processing particularly as applied to vibrations and acoustics.
Dr. Brown graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Aeronautical Engineering Program with a BSAE degree in 1961. After graduation, as part of a university research contract, he worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the Applied Research Lab (ARL) Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Facility where he was involved with both analytical and experimental hypersonic research. After he received his MS in 1963, Dave took a temporary leave of absence from the University for two years and worked on the Research Staff at General Electric in Cincinnati, studying hypersonic shockwave boundary layer interactions in hypersonic scramjet inlets as part of another Air Force Project. In 1966, Dr. Brown returned to the University as a research assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering working on self excited vibration problems such as aerodynamic flutter and machine tool chatter. During the period 1966-1970, Dr. Brown first acquired digital Fourier analysis equipment and began developing applications to structural dynamics.
The focus of Dr. Brown’s early work in the UC-SDRL was studying cutting mechanics of the grinding process for the US Air Force which evolved into his PhD Dissertation titled “Grinding Dynamics “. During his study of grinding dynamics, Dave became very involved in the early practical development of Fourier analysis as the topic was applied to digital signal processing, acoustics, controls, self-excited and forced vibrations. This work set the stage for subsequent developments in experimental structural dynamics and experimental modal analysis, the area that is often associated with UC-SDRL. This history is documented in Sound and Vibration Magazine article (Vol. 40, No. 1, January, 2007).
In 1970, Dr. Brown became the Director of the UC-SDRL until he retired in 2004. Dr. Brown and the UC-SDRL are given credit for the development of impact testing, animated mode shapes, multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) FRF test methods and multiple reference experimental modal analysis. Dr. Brown and the UC-SDRL has authored or co-authored hundreds of magazine articles, technical papers and peer reviewed journal articles and Dr. Brown has given invited seminars and lectures worldwide. This includes invited keynote lectures at conferences from Australia to Japan to South Africa and Germany in addition to the US. Dr. Brown gave the Keynote Address at the first International Modal Analysis Conference (IMAC) in 1982, the Keynote Address at the Japan Modal Analysis Conference (JMAC) in 1997 and also gave the Keynote Address at the 25th IMAC conference in 2007. Dr. Brown has been recognized by the Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM) with numerous awards: B.J. Lazan Award 1987, D.J. DeMichele Award 1992, Harting Award 2005 and the Murray Lecture and Award 2006.
Dr. Brown is currently retired. Dave has always said his students are his proudest legacy.
