Revved up: Professorship brings Indian Motorcycle collaboration into lab

Students in the mechanical engineering programat UW-Stout soon will be hearing the words commonly announced at the start of motorsport races, "Start your engines!"

Two new Indian Motorcycle engines, one air-cooled and one liquid-cooled, were donated to the program by the manufacturer, Polaris, along with a collection of associated components. The collaboration is the result of a project by Professor Devin Berg, who is developing an engine testing system and stand to control the motors for in-class demonstrations and lab experiments.

"The test stand will allow students and faculty to explore the operating conditions of each type of engine and test different control models," Berg said.

Two Indian Motorcycle engines donated by Polaris will be studied by mechanical engineering students at UW-Stout thanks to a professorship awarded to Devin Berg. / UW-Stout

The engines will have a dynamometer to duplicate speed and torque; a data system to monitor performance; handlebars for throttle and clutch control; and electronic feedback on such things as oil temperature and pressure, coolant temperature and intake air temperature.

Berg's work is the result of receiving the John "Jed" Copham Memorial Professorship, in memory of Copham, a 1997 industrial technology graduate who owned Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn. The professorship supports faculty and staff in the engineering and technology department, with preference for projects that have a connection to automobiles or motorsports.

Berg received the professorship in 2023 and has received it again this year, with $11,800 in funding. He has employed two students, Charles Lenk, a senior from Amery, and Lucas Lirette, a senior from North Prairie, to help design the stand.

Mechanical engineering majors Charles Lenk, left, and Lucas Lirette work on the motorcycle engine stand in an engineering lab. / Contributed photo

Berg's project will enhance learning in existing courses. It also could lead to new courses and additional collaborations with Polaris, the Minnesota-based company that also makes snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, pontoons and more.

"This project has already had an impact on the career progression of Charles and Lucas, and as it develops a much larger number of students will be impacted as well," Berg said.

He is one of eight professors who have been awarded a professorship or endowed chair award through the UW-Stout Foundation and Alumni Association. Another five professors have been granted sabbaticals for research during the 2024-25 academic year.

Paul Craig, program director and recipient of a Fulton and Edna Holtby Manufacturing Engineering Chair award, works with students in an engineering lab. / UW-Stout

Professorships and endowed chairs are prestigious positions awarded to high-performing faculty to help them improve their areas of teaching expertise through professional development.

Faculty must apply for the awards, which are based on recommendations made by the Named Professorship Committee and are approved by Chancellor Katherine Frank. Use of the stipends must meet state guidelines and be approved by the Universities of Wisconsin.

Professorships and endowed chairs

Others receiving professorships and endowed chairs are:

Fulton and Edna Holtby Manufacturing Engineering Chair: Danny Bee, assistant professor; and Paul Craig, instrumentation coordinator and program director, engineering and technology department.

Bee will receive $31,000 a year for three years. He plans to strengthen industry connections to the Senior Design Experience capstone course, which this past spring involved 12 industry-sponsored projects. He also plans to develop instructional expertise and provide assistance to small and medium size manufacturers in the area of industry 4.0.

Craig also will receive $31,000 a year for three years. He will seek advanced training in integrating robotics into advanced manufacturing; research smart devices in automated industrial control systems to develop two industry-based courses; and develop a course on cyber-physical digital twins on the factory floor.

Fulton Holtby was a pioneering mechanical engineering professor for 41 years at the University of Minnesota. He and Edna supported UW-Stout's technical programs with scholarships for engineering students; he received an honorary doctorate from the university. Fulton's Workshopat the Rassbach Museum in Menomonie features equipment and tools from his shop and working models he created and manufactured.

Lenore Landry Apparel Design and Development Professorship: Joan Rhee, professor, fashion design and development. Rhee will receive $6,000 a year for three years to support faculty professional development initiatives, student research projects and classroom projects with industry partners.

The award was established by Landry, a 1945 alum in home economics education. Landry, a UW System specialist, was respected nationally for her expertise in textiles and clothing.

Grace Laudon Ostenso Nutrition and Food Science Endowed Chair: Lindsay Heidelberger, associate professor, food and nutrition sciences. Heidelberger will receive $39,700 a year for two years for her project, "Body Composition, Food Security and Eating Behaviors," research focusing on college students.

Ostenso, a 1954 graduate of the family and consumer educational services program, now the dieteticsprogram, founded the chair to provide leadership and vision to ensure expert instruction for UW-Stout students and the continued success of its food and nutrition-related programs.

Professor Debbie Stanislawski has received the Q Endowed Chair in Education award. / UW-Stout

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