Richard A. Bajura

Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Approved Graduate Faculty for CEMR MS and PhD committees

Contact Information Office:  NRC 113F Phone:  304-293-2867 X Fax:  304-293-3749   Visit My Web Site

Richard Bajura has spent the past 21 years facilitating research programs in energy at West Virginia University. During this time he developed/managed eight major interdisciplinary, interinstitutional research programs addressing a wide range of energy applications from resource extraction to alternative fuels. He is skilled at coordinating and managing research programs involving multiple faculty members, multiple disciplines, and multiple institutions. As the current director of the NRCCE, he oversees a total budget of approximately $14 million per year. NRCCE resources include an expert business office for financial and administrative support of research programs and technical communications support for research reporting. In his earlier career as an active faculty member and researcher, Bajura was Principal Investigator on 32 supported projects and published over a hundred technical papers and reports and made over 58 technical presentations on research and technology development. He received consistently high teach evaluations from his students. As an administrator, he has been instrumental in securing more than $250 million in support for research faculty members at WVU. He is actively involved with the ASME Energy Committee, and is a member of the National Coal Council, the Coal Utilization Research Council, the Pittsburgh Coal Conference Advisory Board, and the Fossil Energy Strategic Initiatives for Coal and Power Workgroup. He has strong working relationships with researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory [NETL], having served as an ORAU [Oak Ridge Associated Universities] summer professor at NETL for three years. He is also the WVU Councilor for ORAU. Bajura has served with the WV EPSCoR program since 1989 as a member/member emeritus of the West Virginia State Committee, and held positions such as Project Director, Voting Representative to the National EPSCoR Coalition, and manager of the DOE EPSCoR Program. He is a proven research manager and can provide a wide range of financial and human resource support for research teams in his role as Director of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy. Experience Director, National Research Center for Coal and Energy, WVU, 1994-Present Associate Provost for Research, WVU, 1990-94 Director, Energy and Water Research Center, WVU 1984-90 Asst. Prof., Assoc. Prof., Prof. of Mech. Engr., WVU, 1969,1974,1978-Present Postdoctoral Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University, 1968-69 Research Engineer, Babcock & Wilcox R&D Center, 1967-68, Summer 73, 74, and 75
Education
	Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, Fluids Engineering, 1967
	MSME, University of Notre Dame, Mechanical Engineering, 1964
	BSME, University of Notre Dame, Mechanical Engineering, 1962
Research Focus Areas
	Energy Technologies
Research Interests
	Energy
Service and Outreach
	Academic Integrity Officer, West Virginia University, 1999-2005
	President, Washington Coal Club, 1999
	Vice President for Basic Engineering, American Society of Mechanical Engineering, 1998-2001
	Executive Secretary, Research Integrity Committee, WVU, 1990-94, 1997-1999
	State Project Director, WV EPSCoR, 1990-92; WV DOE EPSCoR Project Director, 1992-Present
	Chairman, National Association of Mineral Research Institute Directors, 1989-90
Professional Societies
	ASME Fellow