Rate My Professor Michael Jenkins

Michael G. Jenkins is a Professor and Assessment/Accreditation Coordinator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering within the Lyles College of Engineering at California State University, Fresno. He earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1987, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette in 1982, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering cum laude from Marquette University in 1980. Following his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Tokyo from 1987 to 1988. Jenkins joined California State University, Fresno in 2007 as the inaugural Dean of the Lyles College of Engineering, serving until 2010, after which he returned to the faculty. Prior to Fresno State, he was Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Detroit Mercy from 2003 to 2007. He previously held positions at the University of Washington, including Professor and Associate Chair from 1997 to 2003, and Associate and Assistant Professor from 1992 to 1997. Earlier career roles include Development Staff Member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Temperature Materials Lab from 1988 to 1992, Project Engineer at PACCAR Technical Center from 1982 to 1984, and Project Engineer at Art Anderson Associates in 1980. Jenkins is a licensed Professional Engineer in Washington since 1985 and previously in Tennessee, and he holds a provisional patent for a hybrid, functionally-graded structure mixing tube.

Jenkins' research focuses on mechanical testing and evaluation of advanced ceramics, ceramic matrix composites, and brittle materials, encompassing fracture mechanics, fatigue testing, creep testing, and tensile, compressive, and shear strength testing. He develops standards and codes for advanced materials, including ASTM and ISO test methods, and works on test methodologies for ceramic composites used in gas turbines and nuclear reactors. As primary author, he contributed to key standards such as ASTM C1275-94 for monotonic tensile strength testing of continuous fiber-reinforced advanced ceramics, ASTM C1273-94 for tensile strength of monolithic advanced ceramics, ASTM C1292-95 for shear strength of continuous fiber-reinforced advanced ceramics, ASTM C1358-97 for monotonic compressive strength, ASTM C1360-97 for constant-amplitude axial tension-tension cyclic fatigue, ISO 15733 for tensile stress-strain behavior of continuous fiber-reinforced composites, and ASTM C1624-12 for monotonic tensile behavior of continuous fiber-reinforced advanced ceramic tubular test specimens. Notable publications include editorship of ASTM STP 1309, Thermal and Mechanical Test Methods and Behaviour of Continuous Fibre Ceramic Composites (1997); book chapters such as 'Fracture Resistance Testing of Brittle Solids' in ASM Handbook Vol. 8 (2001) and 'Standards and Codes for Advanced Materials' in Handbook of Advanced Materials (2004); and refereed articles like 'Test Methods for Hoop Tensile Strength of Ceramic Composite Tubes' in Ceramic Materials for Energy Applications III (2013) and 'Hoop Tensile Strength of Composite Tubes for LWRS Applications' in Ceramic Materials for Energy Applications IV (2014). His current research develops standards and design codes for ceramic matrix composites, including silicon carbide continuous fiber SiC-matrix composites, for light water reactors and advanced small modular reactors to improve fuel performance, accident tolerance, and safety margins.