Dr. Minel “Jack” Braun Endowed Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering

The Dr. Minel “Jack” Braun Endowed Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering was established in December 2023 by Dr. Jack Braun’s wife, Marina Gliner; her family; his many students; colleagues around the world; his family and friends; in honor and in memory of Dr. Jack Braun. By creating this scholarship, Mrs. Gliner expressed her desire to continue Jack’s legacy of not only sharing knowledge with his engineering students, but also discovering and cultivating the unique talents inherent in each of them. Jack believed that many students had untapped potential within, and it was a privilege to help ignite a spark. This desire to help students will continue through The Dr. Minel “Jack” Braun Endowed Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering by creating financial opportunities that would allow mechanical engineering students to focus on the pursuit of their academics and degree completion.

Dr. Braun joined The University of Akron Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1979 after receiving his master’s and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie-Melon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. For more than 40 years, he was intensely passionate about his research and educating students in the study of the application of thermal and fluid mechanics, and tribology. He was a teacher, a mentor, and a friend to his students. In the final 15 years of his academic career, Dr. Braun primarily taught graduate-level courses.

Professor Braun accomplished the following positions and received the following honors:
• Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Chairman of the University Senate
• Multiple time recipient of The University of Akron’s Outstanding Researcher of the Year award
• Chairman of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the National Fluid Transients Committee
• Chairman of The University of Akron Faculty Search Committee for the School of Engineering
• Editor of six technical books in the field of tribology and contributed to three book chapters
• Until his passing, served as an Associate Editor of several international engineering journals including, most recently, Mechanics and Industry
• Published over 100 technical journal publications and over 220 international conference publications
• Awarded five patents
• Graduated 31 masters’ students and 22 doctoral students and was an advisor to several more master’s and Ph.D. candidates until his passing
• Principal investigator for government-funded projects for both NASA, Department of Navy, and NSF (National Science Foundation)*
• Recipient of multiple recognition awards from NASA
• Made a lasting world-wide impact on the science oftribology and his work contributed to SpaceX launch in 2021
• Obtained government, state, and private research funding totaling over $10.5 million throughout his academic career
* The many papers Professor Braun published with NASA, that are not classified, can be found at: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search?g=braun,%20jack.

Eligible candidates for The Dr. Minel “Jack” Braun Endowed Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering must:
• Be enrolled full-time as a senior in the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program or enrolled in the mechanical engineering graduate program,
• Plan to continue their education at The University of Akron with a master’s or doctoral degree in mechanical engineering,
• Plan to work within industry as a mechanical engineer or as a professor in mechanical engineering,
• Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher,
• Be a citizen of the United States of America, and
• Have demonstrated financial need.

Recipient(s) shall be selected by The University of Akron Scholarship Committee in the Office of Student Financial Aid. The scholarship may be renewable, but previous recipients must submit a new application annually.