Bio & Expertise
Dr. Michael C. Reynolds, Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, played a major part in establishing the program, which UWF began in 2016 in response to a call from local businesses and community leaders who said more mechanical engineers were needed in the Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach area. The startup included designing curriculum, establishing laboratories, recruiting students and preparing processes needed for accreditation. Reynolds joined UWF in 2015 from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he was an Associate Professor and Head of the Engineering Department.
He has three degrees in Mechanical Engineering: A Ph.D. and an M.S from Purdue University and a B.S. from Marquette University. Reynolds focuses his research in vibration and control systems. Reynolds developed a novel approach for the time-optimal tracking control of flexible systems. He has also published research in biomechanics, acoustic metamaterials, and engineering education.
Reynolds has received research grants from NASA to explore command controlled weather balloons for extended high altitude experiments, controlled resistance exercise for micro-gravity and using acoustic metamaterials for airfoil structural health monitoring. Reynolds is the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Online Engineering Education. The Journal of Online Engineering Education is the world’s leading journal for pedagogical research in engineering education online. His work has been published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Journal of Dynamic Systems, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, the Journal of Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, the International Journal of Engineering Education as well as others.