Faculty Bios
Dr. Joel Anstrom:
Joel R. Anstrom is Director of the Hybrid and Hydrogen Vehicle Research Laboratory and the DOE Graduate Automotive Technology Education Program at the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State University. He is responsible for developing and managing transportation research projects that advance hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen infrastructure, and high-power in-vehicle energy storage. His research focus is modeling and demonstration of electric, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles for efficiency and dynamic handling.
Dr. Anstrom earned a B.S.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University in 1983, an M.S.E degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992, and a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University in 2002.
Dr. Dan Haworth:
Daniel C. Haworth is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering in the College of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, where he has taught courses on Combustion, Numerical Methods, and Advanced Vehicle Technology since 1999. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (1979) and a PhD (1986) in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, he was a researcher at GM’s Research & Development Center in Warren, MI and taught thermal-fluids sciences courses in the School of Engineering & Computer Science at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, MI.
Prof. Haworth’s research interests are in the computational thermal-fluids sciences, with an emphasis on turbulent combustion modeling and advanced reciprocating-piston IC engines He is the director of the Vehicle Systems & Safety program at the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, is an associate editor of Combustion and Flame, and is a fellow of ASME and of SAE International. He has served as a faculty advisor to Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition teams since 2001, and received the National Science Foundation Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award in 2004.
Gary Neal:
Gary Neal is a Research Engineer and Department Head with the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State University. As part of his duties as a mechanical engineer, Gary’s two main thrust areas during has 12 year tenure at the Lab have been drivetrain technology and underwater weapons systems. Gary is currently the Department Head of the Systems Development and Engineering Department, and has been a principal investigator and participant in many industry and state and federal governments projects ranging over $100M.
Additionally, Gary is an Adjunct Professor in the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department at Penn State University. He has taught the Senior Capstone Design, Junior Design Methodology, Freshman Seminar, and Hybrid Electric Vehicle classes for the past 7 years. To go along with this teaching experience, Gary is also a Faculty Advisor for the Penn State Advanced Vehicle Technology student team. This organization has been giving Penn State students the opportunity to get hands on experience with the design, manufacture, assembly, and test of custom hybrid electric vehicles for over 15 years.
