Mechanical Engineering Professor Honored with Award for Commitment to Research
03/13/2017
Michael Khonsari, Professor in Mechanical Engineering at LSU, received the Danek Award
at the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research’s (EPSCoR) 2017 Coalition
of 
States Conference.
This honor is awarded to someone who has established a long-term commitment to the ideals and goals which EPSCoR exemplifies. Khonsari was chosen unanimously by the committee due to his dedication to the program and service on both the coalition and foundation boards.
The award is named after Joseph Danek Ph.D., Executive Director of the EPSCoR Foundation and Senior Vice President of the Implementation Group, Inc. in Washington, D.C.
Khonsari served as the Foundation Board Chairman for the past three years and was appointed Project Director and Associate Commissioner for Sponsored Research & Development Programs at the Louisiana Board of Regents in 2003.
He did all of this while constantly ensuring the success of EPSCoR by providing his own insight, experience and national perspective to the program.
The National Science Foundation began EPSCoR in 1978 to help attain broader geographical
allocation of research and development support by improving the research infrastructure
of states that have not received much federal funding for research and development
in the past.
Khonsari earned his bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to his career at LSU, he was a professor at Ohio State University and University of Pittsburgh and served as the Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Processes at Southern Illinois University.
He also served as a research faculty fellow at NASA Lewis Research Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force laboratories, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Khonsari is now the Dow Chemical Endowed Chair and Professor, and Director of the Center for Rotating Machinery (CeRoM) at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at LSU.
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Sydney Larriviere, communications intern, LSU College of Engineering