Dr. Howell's research has centered on developing solution techniques for radiative transfer in participating media (particularly the Monte Carlo method), solutions of highly non-linear combined mode heat transfer problems, and, most recently, inverse design and control of thermal systems with combined-mode (non-linear) heat transfer. Dr. Howell is a faculty member of the Thermal/Fluid Systems program of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He has served on the College of Engineering faculty since 1978 and previously taught at the University of Houston. He served as departmental chair from 1986 to 1990 and as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering for three years until August 31, 1999. He worked to improve safety awareness, renovation procedures, communication between the College and the central administration on issues ranging from renovations to intellectual property. He also chaired the committee to develop a Strategic Plan for the College.

He coauthored Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer, Taylor and Francis, now in 4th ed (2002) (with Robert Siegel), and Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, McGraw Hill, 2nd ed. 1992 (with Richard Buckius), and has published over 200 articles, papers and reports. He maintains a web page of thermal radiation shape factors at /~howell/.

He received the ASME/AIChE Max Jakob Award (1997), the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (1991) and the AIAA Thermophysics Award (1990) for his work in radiative transfer, and the ASEE Ralph Coats Roe Award in 1987 as Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Educator. He is a Fellow of ASME and AIAA, and was elected a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Science (1999).

Prof. Sacadura's research was focused on the modeling of radiative and combined mode heat transfer in complex media and on the development of original methods and experimental set-ups for the identification of thermal radiative properties of both opaque and semi-transparent materials in a wide temperature and wavelength range. His interests covered not only theoretical and fundamental aspects of heat transfer but also industrial applications in the frame of a number of research contracts with automotive, aerospace, energy industries and many other ones. Recently Dr. Sacadura participated to the development of a radiative-convective code aimed to design water-spray fire protections for oil and chemical plants. This code is currently being used by the bigger oil and gas french companies.

Since 1983 Dr. Sacadura is full Professor of Mechanical Engineering with tenure at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), the bigger technical university of France (6500 persons fully dedicated to engineering science). Dr. Sacadura is the dean of the faculty members of the Applied Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer program of the INSA's Mechanical Engineering Department. He is also since 2003 dean of the master and doctoral program in Thermal Science jointly operated by 3 universities in Lyon. He has served from 1997 to 2003 as the Director of the Centre de Thermique de Lyon (CETHIL), a 80 person thermal science laboratory jointly operated by INSA Lyon, Université Claude Bernard de Lyon, and CNRS. Dr. Sacadura promoted and advised 35 PhD and over 40 Master degree students.

J. F. Sacadura served as an elected member in the Conseil National des Universités (CNU) from 1986 to 2000, and in the Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) from 2000, two french national organs in charge of the evaluation of faculties, research programs and laboratories.

He has been or is still an active member of a several national and international scientific societies dedicated to thermal science, thermpophysics and mechanical engineering : Société Française de Thermique (SFT, Chairman 1997-99), Association Française de Mécanique (AFM, member of the Scientific Council), European Conference in Thermophysical Properties (ECTP, Chairman 1993-96), ICHMT (member of the Scientific Council), Eurotherm (founding member).

Dr. Sacadura was the main author and editor of Initiation aux Transferts Thermiques, Tec & Doc Lavoisier, Paris, the most widely diffused book in french language on Heat Transfer, uninterruptedly published since 1980 (4th ed). He also co-edited 3 conference books and has published over 160 articles, papers and reports.

He was awarded Chevalier des Palmes Académiques in 1986 and Officier des Palmes Académiques in 1998 (two french Ministry of Education awards) for his work in higher education and research, and received the AcdemINSA Award in 1989 as an outstanding PhD promotor and advisor.

Dr.Kurosaki's research has been focused on analyzing of radiative transfer combined with other modes of heat transfer by theoretical and experimental methods, and applications of radiative heat transfer to practical engineering development. Most recently he has dedicated himself to developing the novel polymer processing procedures from radiative heat transfer point of view: precision injection molding, press molding, and welding of polymer assisted by infrared thermal radiation. Dr.Kurosaki is an Invited Professor of the Cooperative Research Center in the University of Electro-Communication, Tokyo, and a Research Fellow of the Electronic & Engineered Materials Laboratory, Mitsui Chemicals Inc.. He was a faculty member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for Production from 1965 to 1997 in Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was a full professor of the Thermal Engineering Chair from 1982, and served as a member of the Council for 2 years until 1995. He retired the Institute and became a Professor Emeritus in 1997. Then he moved to the University of Electro-communications and served on the Department of Mechanical and Control Systems for 5 years until 2002. He taught heat transfer and thermal engineering for undergraduate and graduate students for his academic career. He was a visiting professor in Purdue University from 1977-1979, and in University of California, Irvine and Technical University Munich in 1992.

Dr.Kurosaki has been an active member in several national and international scientific communities of thermal engineering and polymer processing. He was served as a Division Chairman of Thermal Engineering of JSME for 1988-1990 ( Japan Society of Mechanical Engineering ), a Chairman of the 3rd ASME/JSME Joint Thermal Engineering Conference (1991), a Board member of JSME, (1990-1992), the President of the Heat Transfer Society of Japan (1998-1999), the President of the Japan Polymer Processing Society (2000-2002). He dedicated himself to the Editor of the JSME International Journal (1993-1995), and the Editor for Japan of the International of Experimental Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics (1983-2003).

He was a editor of Novel Energy Engineering System Book, NTS, 1996 and coauthored JSME Data Book: Heat Transfer, 1986, Heat Transfer Hand Book, JSME, 1995 and a few hand books of mechanical engineering. All these books were written in Japanese. He has published over 150 articles, papers and reports.

He received the Best Paper Awards from JSME(Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers; (1976, 1988,1999), the Best Paper Awards from the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Society (1975,1976), and the Best Paper Awards from the Japan Polymer Processing Society (1992, 1999). He was awarded the Thermal Engineering Division Award for his outstanding achievement in heat transfer from JSME. He is a Fellow of ASME, and is selected as a permanent member of JSME.