Dr. Joseph F. Shelley was a Mechanical Engineering Professor at TSC/ TCNJ from 1973 to 2002. Dr. Shelley was an accomplished engineer and educator who was deeply dedicated to his students as he instilled in them the knowledge and pride of the profession.
Prior to his position at the College, he held a variety of academic positions at Union County Technical College in Scotch Plains, N.J., the School of Engineering and Science at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.
He was also president of the engineering consultancy Technalysis, Inc. of Princeton. From 1970 to 1985, he consulted extensively for the U.S. Army Armament Research and Engineering Center at New Jersey’s Picatinny Arsenal. From 1969 to 1982, he provided engineering consulting services to the Army Research Office at Battelle Columbus Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. As a recognized expert in his field, he also provided engineering analysis and expert witness testimony for product liability litigation.
Dr. Shelley earned his B.S. (1958), M.S. (1964), and Ph.D. degrees (1965) in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of New York.
He was a member of several professional and honor societies including: the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi national engineering honor society, Phi Kappa Phi honor society, Sigma Xi scientific research society, and Pi Tau Sigma international mechanical engineering honor society. His military service involved active duty in the U.S. Army from April 1953 through January 1955.
Dr. Shelley authored three mechanical engineering textbooks published in 1980 by McGraw-Hill on Engineering Mechanics, Statics and Dynamics, but is perhaps best known by students around the world for his works entitled: “800 Solved Problems In vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics: and 700 Solved Problems in Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics. Each of the three books were subsequently translated into Spanish and Arabic, and considered a seminal text in the field of mechanical engineering.
Dr. Shelley and his wife and family were long-time residents of Princeton, NJ. Dr. Shelley was happily married to his wife, Gabrielle, for 31 years until she passed away in 2001. After that, he enjoyed his retired life with his partner Marian Green, until he passed away in 2009. Dr. Shelley had four children whom he was very proud of – Stefanie, Suzanne, Matthew and Meredith who lead accomplished lives with their spouses and families. Dr. Shelley enjoyed his four grandchildren, Samantha, Charlotte, Cameron and Kayla and will be greatly missed by the next Shelley grandchild who is on the way!
With the guidance and commitment of the Shelley family, family, friends, alumni from the Shelley era, and faculty and staff of the School of Engineering have generously given to this endowed scholarship fund. Through their generosity, Joe Shelley is permanently honored by this institution as these funds are distributed each year in perpetuity, helping the next generation of professional engineers who will go out into the world and improve the lives of others.