For over 35 years Gordon has been teaching and doing research in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and engineering fluid mechanics. His research interests include the development of basic CFD algorithms for adaptive mesh generation, discretization schemes, multigrid solution methods, and moving surface boundary treatments. To help disseminate CFD technology he has applied CFD to many complex engineering flow situations including those in microfluidic cell sorters, water treatment processes, flow in chemical analysis instrumentation, off-design flows in centrifugal pump passages, and atmospheric boundary layer flows in complex terrains and around buildings. While still actively teaching and developing course materials, he is no longer supervising graduate students, visiting scholars, or post-doctoral fellows.
In the last 15 years his passion for teaching and sharing his research findings has developed into a focus on contributing to the emerging discipline of engineering education. As the inaugural Associate Dean of Teaching (2012 - 2018) he worked extensively with engineering faculty members to improve teaching and learning effectiveness in Engineering. During his tenure in this role he led teaching workshops for faculty development, revamped the TA training workshop, ExpecTAtions, oversaw the student course evaluation process including promoting the effective use for improving course design and delivery, and promoted teaching excellence in Engineering and the University of Waterloo.
Previously, Gordon was the inaugural Academic Director of WatPD-Engineering from 2010 - 2013. During his tenure in this position the academic structure of the program was defined and the two core online professional skills development courses were developed. Additionally, he was the inaugural Teaching Chair for the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering from 2006 – 2010 and the Director of First Year Engineering from 1995 – 2000. He is a committed engineering educator and speaks regularly on and off campus on topics in engineering education.
Research Interests
- Engineering Education
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- Grid Generation
- Complex Fluid Flows
Education
- 1981, Doctorate, Mechanical Engineering, Univeristy of Waterloo
- 1978, Master's, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
- 1977, Bachelor's, Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo
