Kenneth Lulay, PhD Shiley School of Engineering, Margaret and Vincent Aquino Endowed Associate Professor

For Dr. Ken Lulay, UP has always been a family place. “My grandparents got married in Christie Hall in the 1920s, and some of my oldest memories are of picking up my sisters in the 1960s from campus,” he says. “They were some of the first residents in Mehling Hall.” A UP alum himself, Lulay met his wife at Freshman Orientation dinner, and between them and their two sons, they have 6 degrees from the university, including his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering.

“When I went to grad school, my intention was to get a teaching job at a small teaching university,” he says. His return to UP as a professor seemed meant to be. Initially, though, he worked for three years as an engineer at Hyster, before returning to school—this time at University of Washington—for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for Boeing for eight years before returning to the Bluff, where he has served as a professor in the Shiley School of Engineering since 1998.

“I wanted to work directly with people and less with products,” he says. His proudest accomplishments as a professor are establishing meaningful relationships with his students over his years at UP, and leading classes that allowed students to get hands-on with their learning, like his Mechanical Projects class and a telescope-building elective. He has served as an advisor for several student groups such as the student sections of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers, including SAE Aero, SAE Baja and SAE formula teams, which saw him traveling to competitions across the US. He is an active member of the Knights of Columbus, coaches Little League, and has held several leadership positions with the Boy Scouts of America in his free time.

In retirement, he looks forward to working in the garden and spending time with family, but there is no doubt that he will stay connected to The Bluff for years to come.