Bohdan Kulakowski, professor of mechanical engineering, died Wednesday evening, March 22, as a result of a traffic accident.
"Bohdan was one of the finest faculty and human beings that I have known, and we will all sorely miss him," said David Wormley, the Harold and Inge Marcus dean of the College of Engineering. "Our sympathies go out to his family and friends."
Kulakowski first came to Penn State in 1979 as a senior Fulbright scholar in mechanical engineering. He became a member of the University faculty in 1982 and served as head of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (PTI) from 1992 to 2003. Kulakowski was an internationally recognized expert in automatic control systems, computer simulations and control of industrial processes, systems dynamics, vehicle/road dynamic interaction and transportation systems.
Before coming to the United States, he held several management positions in Polish research institutions, including head of the Process Control Division in the Computer Centre for Building Industry and of the Division of Automatic Control research group, Institute of Glass and Ceramics, both in Warsaw. Kulakowski was also a lecturer in electrical engineering at Warsaw Technical University and in 1974 held a United Nations postdoctoral position at the University of York in the United Kingdom.
He was highly regarded for his teaching at Penn State, winning numerous awards. His honors include the University's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Penn State Engineering Society (PSES) Outstanding Teaching Award and the PSES Premier Teaching Award.
John Mason, dean of Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach in the College and current head of PTI, said, "Bohdan's leadership and scholarly activities will have a lasting effect on his many students, faculty research assistants and staff at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. His significant contributions to the profession, which have been recognized both nationally and internationally, will influence those in the profession for years to come."
In 2000, Discovery Magazine recognized Kulakowski's fuzzy logic algorithm for avoiding skidding accidents as one of its top 10 technological innovations of the year.
His professional affiliations include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Society for Testing and Materials and the Pi Tau Sigma mechanical engineering honor society. Kulakowski was a Fellow of ASME and secretary of the International Forum for Road Transportation Technology.
Kulakowski received his master's degree from Warsaw Technical University and his doctoral degree from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.
He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. Funeral arrangements are being finalized.