RonaldMatthews

About

Ron Matthews joined the mechanical engineering faculty at UT Austin in January 1980 and immediately founded the UT Austin student branch of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

The following academic year, he founded, named, and hosted what became the largest intercollegiate student engineering design competition in the world. Most notable among his research accomplishments was leading the team that discovered the reason that direct injection spark ignition engines could not meet U.S. emissions standards. These are the most fuel-efficient gasoline engines and are now installed in more than 55% of all light-duty vehicles produced in the U.S.

Matthews has been very active in service to SAE-International, serving on numerous committees and boards, including serving on the Board of Directors from 2009-2011. He has been a consultant to the National Academy of Sciences, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, General Motors Corporation, Argonne National Laboratory, and many other government agencies and private companies, primarily in the engines area.

He has served as an expert witness for the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas and for the U.S. Department of Justice. Most notably, he served as an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice (on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency) versus Volkswagen (2015) and again versus Fiat Chrysler America (2019), in similar Diesel emissions treating scandals.

Educational Qualifications

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, The University of California, Berkeley, 1977
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of California, Berkeley, 1972
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1971

Select Awards & Honors

• Academy of Distinguished Alumni, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering (2022)
• SAE Fellow (2002)
• SAE Excellence in Engineering Education (Triple E) Award (2002)
• SAE Myers Award for outstanding student-authored technical paper (2002)
• SAE Faculty Advisor Award (2001–2002)
• Arch T. Colwell Merit Award, Society of Automotive Engineers (1992)

Select Publications