UT Arlington College of Engineering
UT Arlington

Faculty Profile
Bob Woods – Driven to Succeed

Few UT Arlington faculty members have the received national acclaim and respect that Professor of Mechanical Engineering Bob Woods has gained. He worked long and hard to get it.

Dr. Woods joined UT Arlington in 1974 after receiving his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University and conducting fluidics research with the U.S. Army.

Not long after he arrived here, Dr. Woods became the faculty advisor for UT Arlington’s Mini Baja racing teams. These cross-country racers are designed and built by students to survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. UT Arlington teams competed successfully in Mini Baja events from 1977 to 1987, winning six out of 10 events.

A new Formula SAE competition was started in 1981. Students were challenged to conceive, design, build and compete with a small, formula-style race car. Six cars were entered in the first event at UT Austin that year. UT Arlington joined the competition the following year. 

“We hosted the event in 1985,” said Dr. Woods. “After the event, three colleagues from UT Austin and I devised a new set of rules that are basically those in use today.” The competition’s scoring considers engineering design, cost analysis, presentation, acceleration, skid-pad, fuel economy, maneuverability and endurance.

“This is a very significant program for the students,” said Dr. Woods. “It gives them the opportunity to work in a team, on a schedule and budget, and to make practical decisions about the design of a complex system. This is exactly what industrial recruiters want in a graduate and it gives them quite an advantage upon graduation.”

Formula SAE has spread worldwide; there are now three national competitions in the U.S., plus competitions in England, Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany and Brazil. Dr. Woods’ leadership of UT Arlington’s Formula SAE racing program has resulted in several championships over the years. UT Arlington teams have won eight national competitions in the U.S., plus wins in England, Australia and Japan.

In addition to participating in national and international events, UT Arlington’s team hosts an annual “Texas Autocross Weekend” in which other university teams are invited for a weekend of Formula SAE activities in conjunction with a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) autocross event. Although designed as a regional event, teams from as far away as Ohio have participated in the event, which draws more cars than did the official competition that UT Arlington hosted in 1985.

Developing and mentoring UT Arlington teams isn’t his only interest. Dr. Woods was instrumental in the growth of Formula SAE programs nationwide and has received numerous awards for his contributions. In 1999, he was the first recipient of the SCCA’s “Carroll Smith Mentors Cup.”  In 2004, the SCCA established the “Dr. Bob Woods Cup” in his honor: The Cup is presented to the best student driver in SCCA events.

Dr. Woods teaches several undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, including Dynamics Systems Modeling and Simulation, Automotive Engineering, Control Systems Components, Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems, Senior Capstone Design and others. During his teaching career, Dr. Woods has supervised 12 doctoral students and more than 100 master’s students.

In 2006, Dr. Woods received the Chancellor’s Teaching Award for 2006. This award is presented annually by The University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council to recognize excellence in teaching at each of the system’s nine universities. He was elected to the UT Arlington Academy of Distinguished Teachers in April of 2007. The award recognized his outstanding teaching and commitment to students and the learning process.

“It’s a pleasure for me to watch these students grow professionally as well as academically during the process of their projects,” he stated. “There are so many examples of a student not even knowing what a drill press was at the beginning and then running every machine in the shop at the end.  I enjoy the interaction with the students on the technical aspects of the car. We have developed some very innovative concepts on the cars over the years.”