David E. Thompson


Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering
Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering
Professor Emeritus, Computer Science
The University of Idaho


Updated: 7/27/2010

"Here comes Edward Bear now, down the stairs behind Christopher Robin. Bump! Bump! Bump! on the back of his head. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming down stairs. He is sure that there must be a better way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment to think of it."

Winnie-Ther-Pooh
A.A. Milne, 1926

To contact Professor Thompson, please click HERE

Education

Degree Field Graduation Institution
B.S. Mechanical Engineering January, 1963 Lamar University
M.S. Mechanical Engineering January, 1964 Louisiana Polytechnic Inst.
Thesis: Geometric Analysis of von Karman Vortex Streets
Major Professor: Charles A. Whitehurst
PhD. Mechanical Engineering January, 1970 Purdue University
Dissertation: The Fluid Dynamics of Renal Blood Flow
Major Professor: Kenneth R. Purdy

Contact Information

The following is my contact information.

Interests and Activities

Teaching Interests

I retired from active university work in 2007. My teaching interests were broad, and included interactive computer graphics, graduate and undergraduate instrumentation, nonlinear math modeling and analysis, design, and the thermal and fluid sciences. For my nonlinear analysis course, I use my own textbook entitled Design Analysis: Mathematical Modeling of Nonlinear Systems, Cambridge University Press January, 1999.

If you are interested in my most recent courses, please access the material associated with them here:

Design Projects

The time I spent with my students was exceptionally rewarding. I am shown on the left with a team of senior students during my tenure at LSU along with the econorail dragster they designed and built in 1991. They had to predict the dragster's performance using a mathematical model for drag, friction, engine performance, tire growth with speed, gear ratios, and other factrors. According to their model, the dragster was capable of accelerating to 150mph in the 1/4-mile in 8.85 seconds. To their astonishment (and delight), on its third run and the first under full power, the vehicle was clocked at the dragstrip at 149mph, 8.89 seconds. Their trust in engineering principles was made firm that night!

At the University of Idaho, I was honored to serve as one of the Faculty Advisors on the Formula SAE , design program. These race vehicles compete nationally, and I remain extremely proud of our student's accomplishments.

Research Interests

Much of my research involved modeling and analysis of systems.
One of these relates to the study of the modern human hand. Hands as machines have interested me for at least the past two decades. In 1995, I did some collaborative work on ancient hands (50-70,000 year old Neanderthal bone specimens).
I have collaborated in Public Health Service funded projects on the effects of repetitive mechanical stress on soft tissues as well as an NIH-funded project studying the physiological response of tendons to such stresses.
For more on my research interests, review the topics of my former graduate students below.

Publications

Asterisks are used to highlight publications with my students.

  1. Journal Publications - Click here for a selected list of my journal papers.
  2. Books, Chapters - Click here for a list of my book contributions.

The Thompson Student Stable

I have had the priviledge of working with many outstanding students over the years. Click here for a complete list of my former graduate students and their thesis or dissertation topics.