Paul Lam

Paul Chi-King Lam, Ph.D.

CUYAHOGA FALLS -- Paul Chi-King Lam, Ph.D., 62, died May 24, 2009 after fighting a courageous battle with Kidney disease.

Dr. Lam was born in Nanking, China and had resided in Cuyahoga Falls the past 34 years, moving here from West Lafayette, Ind. Dr. Lam was a true scholar and valued all aspects of the educational enterprise including research, teaching and service. His academic journey began at Purdue University, where he received a B.S. in Engineering Science in 1969. His graduate education next took him to the University of Illinois where he obtained a M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in 1970. After Illinois, he attended The University of Akron, where he received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1978.

After brief sojourns into the corporate world at Pratt Whitney, Babcock & Wilcox, and General Motors, Dr. Lam began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the University of Akron in 1980. He was to serve Akron with all his amazing devotion to students and research for the 29 years. Most recently, he served with distinction as Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies and Diversity Programs, and as a Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

As a faculty member and Dean, Dr. Lam worked with many students and he truly loved watching students grow into active professionals. There are far too many students whose lives he influenced to ever list them all. This included students at every level, from Ph.D. to grade school children in the workshops he delivered at local schools. Dr. Lam was an advisor for ASME and participated in over 57 Ph.D. or Master's level committees.

A phrase that could be used repeatedly to describe Dr. Lam "is too numerous to mention." This expression certainly describes his professional service and activities. Some of the technical societies in which he held membership include American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), American Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), National Assoc. of Minority Engr. Program Administrators (NAMEPA), and National Advancement Council of Minorities in Engineering (NACME). Honor society memberships included Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, Sigma Gamma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Pi Sigma. He served on committees for many of these organizations, including the Ohio Space Grant Consortium K-12 Education and Pipeline Committee, and also reviewed for journals and federal agencies.

Dr. Lam set high standards for his students and for himself. He was a tireless worker, who also found time to pursue his passion for knowledge. His accomplishments included a patent and over 120 journal, conference, or book publications. There were of course many additional conference presentations and technical reports. As further recognition of the high quality of Dr. Lam's work, he received over 50 grants or donations of funds as a source of support for his research and his minority programs. His areas of research interest and publication included structural dynamics, rehabilitation and adaptive devices for cerebral palsy patients, finite element analysis of structures, fatigue and fracture evaluation of material behavior, minority engineering education, pre-college math-science-technology programs, and retention models of engineering education.

Preceded in death by his son, Jason and father, Dr. Shue-Lock Lam; he is survived by his wife, Marie; sons, Daniel and Andrew; mother, Margaret Lam of San Diego, Calif.; brothers, Peter (Katherine) Lam of San Diego, Calif. and Michael (Amy) Lam of Los Angeles, Calif.; sisters, Stella (David) So of Louisville, Ky. and Anna (Kevin) Lee of San Diego, Calif. and many nieces and nephews.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in The Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. A Memorial Service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Wednesday at The Martin Center, 105 Fir Hill Dr., Akron, OH 44304, Pastor David Scavuzzo officiating. Final resting place Chestnut Hill Memorial Park. In lieu of other remembrances, memorials may be made to The University of Akron Foundation for the Paul Lam Scholarship c/o Deanna R. Dunn Director, Engineering Cooperative Education Program, Akron, OH 44325-3902.