Midkiff Receives UA Engineering’s Hackney Leadership Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama College of Engineering announced Dr. K. Clark Midkiff Jr., professor and director of UA’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technology, as the 2011 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership award recipient.

The award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the constant guidance and leadership necessary to make UA’s College of Engineering exceptional.

Midkiff began working at The University of Alabama in 1986 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. In 1991, he was promoted to associate professor, and in 2006 he achieved the rank of professor.

Midkiff has gained a variety of experience in automotive engineering through his studies of engine combustion utilizing natural gas and diesel fuels. In 2002, he was named director of UA’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technology, which was established to assist in the development of efficient, safe, secure, and environmentally-friendly vehicles for meeting the transportation needs of America through discovery, research and education.

Under his leadership, the Center has experienced tremendous growth of research grants. Midkiff has been awarded numerous externally-funded research grants, and he has more than 50 reviewed publications and more than 44 conference presentations.

Improving the Capstone has also been a high priority for Midkiff through his service on numerous University committees. He has been involved with UA’s Faculty Senate serving as a multiple-term senator to steering committees and chairing the student affairs committee and research and service committee to acting as the current Faculty Senate vice president.

Midkiff also serves on UA’s Intellectual Property Committee and the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, and he is the adviser for UA’s Pi Tau Sigma National Mechanical Engineering Honorary, UA’s Theta Tau Engineering Professional Fraternity, and the India Association of Tuscaloosa.

In addition to teaching and research, Midkiff is involved in numerous professional activities and organizations. He is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers. Since 1998, he has served on the advisory board of the Combustion Institute Central States Section and is currently serving as the past chair of the advisory board. He is also actively involved as the chair of the executive committee of the U.S. Sections of the Combustion Institute.

Midkiff received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University in 1974. He then received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1979, 1982 and 1986, respectively.

This award was created as a tribute to T. Morris Hackney and was made possible by the contributions from John H. Josey and his son, Howard Josey.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA TodayAll-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.