V. LANE RAWLINS PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED LIFETIME SERVICE

Recipients of this award have demonstrated great personal commitment to the university and community. Their excellent service in administration, teaching, research, extension, or a professional field has had a profound influence on the University’s direction and progress.

Professor Gurocak was awarded the 2022 V. Lane Rawlins President’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Service. Dr. Gurocak was recognized for his great personal commitment to the university and community.

Dr. Gurocak built WSU Vancouver’s fledgling engineering program into a vibrant School for undergraduate and graduate students. In 1997 he started the campus’ first engineering lab, then received several grants from the National Science Foundation and other agencies to establish robotics and automation lab.

The School of Engineering and Computer Science (ENCS) was established in 2004, with Gurocak as its founding director. Under his watch, the School developed 6 degree programs and secured multiple ABET accreditations for its mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science programs. Gurocak launched and is now overseeing the Professional and Corporate Education (PACE) program for WSU Vancouver with courses for the regional workforce.

Research

The Robotics and Automation Lab is involved in research and development of advanced actuators for mechatronics applications.

Actuators, such as motors, are devices that convert electrical energy into mechanical work.  As the demand for actuator technologies grows in applications such as biomedical, prosthetics, haptics, computer games, etc., there is an increasing need for more sophisticated actuators with high power-to-volume ratio.

Our group develops analytical models, electro-mechanical hardware designs and control software.