University of St. Thomas

Education

BS 1980, University of Minnesota, Mathematics (with distinction and on Putnam team)
MS 1982, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Charles Stark Draper Fellow
Ph.D. 1993, University of Minnesota, Mechanical Engineering

Interests and expertise:
Machine design, computer-aided-engineering, kinematics, dynamics and control of mechanical systems and related areas of applied mathematics, especially in transportation and automation.

Career
Michael P. Hennessey (Mike) joined the full-time faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2000. Mike gained 10 years of industrial and academic laboratory experience at 3M, FMC, and the University of Minnesota prior to embarking on an academic career at Rochester Institute of Technology (3 years) and Minnesota State University, Mankato (2 years). He has taught over 15 courses in mechanical engineering at the undergraduate and graduate level, advised 6 MSME graduates, and has written (or co-written) 40 technical papers (published or accepted), in either journals (9), conference proceedings (30), or in magazines (1). He also actively consults with industry and is a member of ASME, SIAM and ASEE. Science Citation Index: 22 (as of summer 2005).

Selected Publications

Hennessey, M. P. and Johnson, M., “Design and Manufacture of a Museum-Grade Children’s Indoor Trebuchet by Mechanical Engineering Students,” The International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education (to appear).

Nininahazwe, L. and Hennessey, M. P., “Methodology for Creating a Scale Model of an Assembly,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, November 10-12, 2010.

Johnson, N. N., Hennessey, M. P., and Abraham, J. P., “Swept Arc Length Measure of Abrasive Wear,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, November 10-12, 2010.

Hennessey, M. P. and Shakiban, C, "Brachistochrone on a 1D Curved Surface using Optimal Control," ASME Transactions on Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 132(3), May 2010.

Hennessey, M. P. and Shakiban, C, "Brachistochrone on a 2D Curved Surface using Optimal Control," Proceedings of the IASTED Intelligent Systems and Control Conference, Cambridge, MA, November 2-9, 2009.

Hennessey, M. P., "Statics and Dynamics Projects Emphasizing Introductory Design and Manufacturing," Proceedings of the Annual ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, June 22-25, 2008.

Hennessey, M. P., "Simulation and Visualization of Dynamic Systems," ASEE 2007: North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, September 20-22, 2007.

Hennessey, M. P. and Kumar, S., "Integrated graphical game and simulation-type problem-based learning in kinematics," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2006.

Hennessey, M. P. and Hacker, L. A., "Dynamic 3D Visualization of Stress Tensors," Proceedings of the Annual ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Conference, Chicago, IL, June 18-21, 2006.

Kumar, S. and Hennessey, M. P.,  "Generalized Multiple Economy Cost-of-Living Ordinary Annuities from an Interest Theory Perspective," The Engineering Economist, Vol. 51, No. 1, 2006.

Hennessey, M. P., "Visualization of the Motion of a Unicycle on a Sphere," IASTED International Journal of Modelling and Simulation, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2006.

Hennessey, M. P., Rhode, P. S., and Jaedike, A.C., "A Gallery of CAD Generated Imagery: Pedagogical Reflections," ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR, June 12-15, 2005.

Hennessey, M. P., "Embedding a National Design Contest into a Course," ASEE 2004: North Midwest Section Annual Conference, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, October 7-9, 2004.

Hennessey, M. P., and Lin, S.-H., "Understanding Wear and Lay Patterns Generated by a Rotating Circular Abrasive Disk," Grinding and Abrasives Magazine, January/February 2004.

Hennessey, M. P., "The Kinematic Car: Teaching Undergraduates Nonholonomic Mechanical System Basics," ASEE 2003: North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, October 9-11, 2003.

Hennessey, M. P., Jaedike, A. C., and Rhode, P. S., "Galleries of CAD Generated Imagery," ASEE 2002: North Midwest Regional Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, October 10-12, 2002.

Hennessey, M. P., Shakiban, C., and Shvartsman, M. M., "Characterizing Slop in Mechanical Assemblies via Differential Geometry," Transactions of the ASME: Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 2(3), 2002, pp. 150-159.

Hennessey, M. P., "A Structured Activity Based Approach to Teaching Machine Design," ASEE 2001: North Midwest Section Annual Conference, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, September 27-29, 2001.   This paper received the MIKOL best paper of the conference award.

Eggleton, N. J., and Hennessey, M. P., "Unconstrained Instantaneous Center Integration (ICI) Algorithms," IASTED Intelligent Systems and Control Conference, Honolulu, HI, August 14-16, 2000.

Sahin, H., and Hennessey, M. P., "Low-Speed Vehicle Error-State Model for Lateral Guidance," IASTED Intelligent Systems and Control Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, June 1-4, 1998.

LeBlanc, T., Hennessey, M. P., and Walter, W. W., "Integrated Simulation and Position/Force Control of a Gripper," Fifth IASTED International Conference on Robotics and Manufacturing, Cancun, Mexico, May 29, 1997.

Hennessey, M. P., and Donath, M., "Interaction Dynamics Between an Electric Vehicle's 'Pantograph' and the Road," Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1996, pp. 81-102.

Hennessey, M. P., Shankwitz, C., and Donath, M., "Sensor-based virtual bumpers for collision avoidance: configuration issues," SPIE Photonics 95 Conference, Collision Avoidance and Automated Traffic Management Sensors, Volume 2592, Philadelphia, PA, October 25, 1995, pp. 48-59.

Hennessey, M. P., and Donath, M., "The Multiplexed Joint Method for Determining the Inverse Kinematics of an N DOF Serial Link Manipulator," Advances in Robotics, ASME Winter Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA, November 1992, pp. 181-192.

Hennessey, M. P., Huang, P. C., and Bunnell, C. T., "Kinematics & Control Algorithm Development and Simulation for a Redundant Two-Arm Robotic Manipulator System," Proceedings of the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics, Pasadena, CA, January 1989, Vol. V, pp. 21-30.

Whitney, D. E., Gustavson, R. E., and Hennessey, M. P., "Designing Chamfers," International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1983, pp. 3-18.

Personal

Married to Catherine Marie Carlson. Two children. Hobbies include golf, fishing, sailing, camping, hiking, and skiing.