Dr. Menart is currently a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Wright State University. Dr. Menart received his B.S. degree from the University of North Dakota, M.S. degree from the University of Illinois, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Menart has made significant contributions in the area of education and research. First and foremost, Dr. Menart has developed the first Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering Master's Degree Program in the state of Ohio – one of the few of these types of programs in the country. Approved by the university and Ohio Board of Regents in 2008, this program brought Wright State into a significant field with tremendous future growth.
In addition, Dr. Menart has developed and teaches a number of courses for this program, including Wind Power, Photovoltaics, Solar Engineering, Geothermal Energy, and Energy Conversion. Considerable public media attention was given to this program at its launch in 2009, including national, state, and local web, radio, and television outlets. Dr. Menart has served as the Director of the Renewable and Clean Energy Program since its inception, and has given talks around the state on energy. Dr. Menart's research has spanned many different technical areas over the years. The major areas of his research have been radiative heat transfer, plasma science, solar energy, and geothermal energy. Solar energy and geothermal energy are two of Dr. Menart's recent research endeavors, and he has received two DOE grants to perform work in these areas. As part of these grants, Dr. Menart has developed two geothermal design programs and a simulation program for photovoltaic, fuel cell, and hydrogen storage power systems. Dr. Menart's geothermal programs are currently available to the public through a DOE website.
Overall in the area of research, Dr. Menart and his team of graduate research assistants have brought in over $3 million in external grants and published 27 journal articles, one book chapter, and 60 conference papers. Dr. Menart has won the Abe M. Zarem Award for distinguished achievement in astronautics from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and he has just recently won the Wright State University's Trustee's Award for Faculty Excellence.