Rate My Professor Ron Rorrer

Ronald A. L. Rorrer, PhD, PE, serves as Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering, Design and Computing at the University of Colorado Denver. He joined CU Denver as full-time faculty in August 1997, following part-time teaching since 1993, and assumed the role of Chair on July 1, 2021. Earlier in his career, Rorrer held positions as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines from 1994 to 1997, Advanced Technology Project Leader in the Advanced Materials Research Group at The Gates Rubber Company from 1993 to 1997, and Precision Mechanical Design Engineer at Martin Marietta from 1986 to 1987. He also served as Director of Motorsports at CU Denver. Rorrer earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1984, MS in 1985, and PhD in 1991, all from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Rorrer's research interests encompass tribology and surface science, polymers, power systems, and composites, with contributions to biomechanics, prosthetic devices, bio-MEMS calibration, friction-induced vibrations, and elastomeric stick-slip phenomena. His key publications include co-authoring "Bi-Behavioral Prosthetic Knee Enabled by a Metamorphic Compliant Mechanism" (Advances in Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots I, 2012; Best Paper Award at the 2nd ASME/IFToMM International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots), "Design and Fabrication of a Six Degree-of-Freedom Open Source Hand" (IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng, 2016), "MRI of the Ex-PRESS stainless steel glaucoma drainage device" (Br J Ophthalmol, 2011), and "Static and quasi-static calibration of a bio-MEMS device" (Biomed Sci Instrum, 2004). He has published over 20 refereed articles and proceedings. Rorrer advises senior design projects, including motorsports teams that secured first place in the hydrogen prototype category at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2013. He consults on tribology, polymers, design and analysis, patents, product liability, and forensic engineering for clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 100 companies. Additionally, he has contributed articles to Mechanical Engineering Magazine published by ASME.