About the Authors
- Page ID
- 145535
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James K. Lord
James Lord is a Collegiate Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he has taught foundational mechanics courses since 2014, prior to which he taught a variety of courses at Cal Poly, SLO. Born and raised in England, he holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering from Newcastle University. He is active in the American Society for Engineering Education and has won numerous teaching awards. He is passionate about removing barriers to education and has previously contributed to other free mechanics resources, including the popular Engineering Statics: Open and Interactive. After a decade of watching students spend $100+ on a textbook for his course he thought “I could write one of those”. So he did.
Amy Richardson
Amy Richardson is a research scientist in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Before joining Virginia Tech, she spent over 15 years as a community college faculty member, teaching mechanics courses every semester. Amy holds a BS and MS in Civil Engineering, as well as a PhD in Engineering Education. She is passionate about fostering equity in the classroom so that every student has the opportunity to succeed. Contributing to this OER textbook is her way of making foundational engineering mechanics more accessible to all—one small step toward removing barriers in engineering education.
Sneha Davison
Sneha Davison is an advanced instructor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. She also completed her BS (1996), MS (1999), and PhD (2003), all in Engineering Science and Mechanics, from Virginia Tech. She has taught multiple mechanics courses every semester since the fall of 2016. These courses primarily include Statics, Dynamics, Deforms, and Thermodynamics. Beyond teaching in person, she feels that contributing to this OER textbook is the perfect way to reach more students and put the insight she has gained about how to communicate complicated concepts to students to good use.
David A. Dillard
David A. Dillard is the Adhesive and Sealant Science Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. He has co-authored over 210 refereed publications and regularly teaches mechanics courses. A recipient of university, national, and international awards, primarily for his research in adhesives, polymers, fracture mechanics, and viscoelasticity, he has been heavily involved in proposing and developing a novel problem-solving platform based on inadequacies he saw in publisher virtual homework feedback for a mechanics of materials course. Having taught this topic for many years, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats, he is very interested in seeing an open-source book for this important engineering course.


