1932–2005

Elected in 1990

“For pioneering analytical simulation of internal combustion engines and verification with advanced experimental techniques.

BY DAVID E. FOSTER

SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY

GARY LEE BORMAN, Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), passed away on January 17, 2005, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on March 15, 1932. He was the only child of Meta Singer and Louis Borman. He graduated from West Allis High School and continued his education at UW-Madison in mathematics (B.S., 1954; M.S., 1956) and mechanical engineering (M.S., 1957) where his thesis was on droplet vaporization. In 1971 he married Marlene Mehls in Chippewa Falls. He is survived by Marlene and cousins in the Milwaukee area.

After graduating from UW-Madison and spending a semester teaching math at UW-Milwaukee, Borman joined General Electric Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. His work involved rocket heat transfer and electric propulsion research for space applications. After three years at GE he gained the title “Senior Engineer.” Then, when Professor Phil Myers contacted Gary about becoming an instructor in mechanical engineering to teach engineering analysis and pursue a Ph.D., he chose to return to academia. Borman’s 1964 Ph.D. thesis was titled “Mathematical Simulation of IC Engine Processes and Performance.”