Dan Gerbus

Dan Gerbus was one of thirty-three students honored at the Ninth Annual Outstanding Student of the Year Awards ceremony held in January 2000 at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington, DC.

Dan received his BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and his MS at the University of Idaho, where he pursued a doctorate of philosophy in mechanical engineering. Dan’s interests range from analytical modeling and experimental mechanics to design and CNC machining.

Dan was a participant and leader in Idaho Engineering Works, an innovative model for capstone design classes that focuses on human dynamics, communication, teamwork, personal reflection, and professionalism. As a teaching assistant for the mechanical engineering senior capstone design course, he trained and advised graduates and undergraduates in machine shop equipment operation, project management, solid modeling, team-based product design, and design for manufacturability.

These skills have led to successful student work on projects funded under DOT’s University Transportation Centers Program. These projects include the zero-emissions race car, alcohol-water fuel engine conversion, two-stroke engine test stand design, electrically- isolated power train design, and most recently, the FutureTruck 2000 competition.

Dan worked on the development of composite structure design software and assisted fellow graduate students with other NIATT-funded research, including genetic algorithms to optimize composite materials, equation decoupling software, and alcohol-water fuel igniter design.  

In 1999, Dan presented his Master’s thesis on the analysis and design of traditional archery bows at the Regional ASME conference. Dan’s dissertation topic involved optimized structural design and the complete fabrication of an electrically- assisted bicycle sponsored by NIATT. The bike utilizes fuel cells and composite materials to optimize the system.

Dan Gerbus accepts Student-of-the-Year plaque from Mortimer L. Downey (Deputy Secretary), Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, and Kelley Coyner (RSPA Administrator)

Dan Gerbus
2000 Student-of-the-Year

Outstanding
Graduate Students

2007--Matthew Benke
2006--Nathan Bradbury
2005--Yuri Meresczak
2004--Dan Cordon
2003--Philip Rust
2002--David Alexander
2001--Geoffrey Judd
2000--Dan Gerbus
1999--Paul Coffelt
1998--Andrew A. Miller
1997--Matthew Zoll

National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology

University of Idaho
115 Engineering Physics Building
Moscow, ID 83844-0901
Phone:  (208) 885-0576
Fax:      (208) 885-2877
E-mail:   niatt@uidaho.edu

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