Peter Walsh, Ph.D., a longtime faculty member in the UAB School of Engineering, was recently named Research Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

Peter joined the UAB faculty as a research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2002. Over the past 17 years, he has mentored dozens of students while teaching heat transfer, combustion, and statistical mechanics. He received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship from the UAB Graduate School in 2010; the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2011 and was nominated for the Engineering Council of Birmingham’s Educator of the Year award in 2014.

As a researcher, he instituted the Caprock Integrity Laboratory—a facility dedicated to researching the suitability of underground geologic formations for permanent storage of carbon dioxide. Recent projects included measurements of the permeability of seal layers to gases and simulation of carbon dioxide migration during and following injection into geologic formations in the Citronelle Oil Field in Mobile County. (Read more about the background of this project in this 2007 story from UAB Engineering magazine.)

Prior to joining the UAB faculty, Peter worked at a number of prestigious universities and national laboratories, including Princeton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, and Sandia National Laboratories. He earned his B.S. in chemistry from Robert College in Turkey, an M.A. in chemistry from Wesleyan University, and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Cornell University.

“Dr. Walsh is beloved by his students, and he has proven over the course of his UAB career to be a dedicated researcher, mentor, and teacher,” said David Littlefield, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “I am proud of what he has accomplished during his time at the School of Engineering, and I believe this designation of Research Professor Emeritus is well deserved.”