Faculty Directory

Kirk, Dr. James A.

Kirk, Dr. James A.

Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Website(s):

I started my career at the University of Maryland/College Park as Assistant Professor of ME in 1972.  I was promoted to Associate Professor of ME in 1976, and to Professor of ME in 1986. 

I retired as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland/College Park in July 1998 and I was subsequently appointed to the position of Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering.

 

 

  • Applications of metal cutting to mechanical energy absorbers (aka. "Mechanical Fuse")
  • Magnetically suspended flywheels for energy storage.

  • Kirk, J.A., "Flywheel Energy Storage Part I ‑ Basic Concepts", Int. J. of Mech. Science, Vol. 19, No. 4, 1977, pgs. 223‑231.
  • Kirk, J.A., "Flywheel Energy Storage Part II ‑ Magnetically Suspended Superflywheel", Int. J. of Mech. Science, Vol. 19, No. 4, 1977, pgs. 233‑245 (with P.A. Studer).
  • Kirk, J.A., "Design of a Metal Skinning Energy Absorber for the U.S. Capitol Subway System", Int. J. of Mech. Science, Vol. 19, No. 10, 1977, pgs. 595‑602.
  • Kirk, J.A., "Metal Cutting Energy Absorbers", Machine Design, March 10, 1977, pgs. 84‑85 (with J.W. Gay).
  • Kirk, J.A., "Mechanical Energy Absorbers and Aluminum Honeycomb", Trans. ASME, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 104, No. 3, July 1982, pgs. 671‑674.
  • Higgins, M.A., Plant, D.P., Ries, D.M., Kirk, J.A., and Anand, D.K., "Flywheel Energy Storage for Electric Utility Load Leveling," Proceedings of the 26th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, August 4-9, 1991, Boston, Massachusetts, pgs. 209-214.
  • Wells, S.P., Pang, D.C., and Kirk, J. A., “The Design, Manufacture, and Testing of a Composite Flywheel for Energy Storage”, Mechanics in Materials Processing and Manufacturing, ASME Publication AMD-Vol. 194, pgs. 397-404, November 1994.

79 Undergrads Recognized at Annual Honors & Awards Celebration

Maryland Engineering honored 79 undergraduates who exemplify the college's commitment to excellence at this year's ceremony event, held April 29 in the Stamp Student Union. Five were recognized with Dean's Awards.

Savyon Stokes Receives 2022 Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

Aerospace engineering student one of just 39 national recipients for 2022 fellowship.

UMD Aero Students Awarded Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

Alexis Burris, Kirk “KJ” Mclean and Elias Hailu Daniel have been selected for the newly-launched program.

Doyenne Reliability Engineering Program

A fellowship for Mozambican women to pursue graduate education in Reliability Engineering at UMD

Kailkhura and Vathsavai Win Best Consortium Student Presentation Award, Spring 2019

Research sponsors voted theirs best out of 15 presentations.

Spacecraft carrying Adomaitis thin film experiment docks with the International Space Station

The experiment will travel on the ISS for a year, exposing samples to the environment of low earth orbit.

John S. Baras inducted into Clark School Innovation Hall of Fame

Baras created algorithms and protocols by which Internet services can be delivered over satellite.

Institute for Systems Research Hosts Iraqis

Delegation seeks partnerships, information on American universities.

Clark School Wins at NASA Competition

Undergrad team's lunar flying vehicle design wins at RASC-AL.

Distinguished Alumnus William Bissell Passes Away

Alum worked for 40 years at Lockheed and was designer in Skunkworks project.

Now That's Cool

Clark School engineers out to thaw the mysteries of ice.