Kim Stelson is the Founding Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. He is a College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, where he has been since 1981. His research includes work on improving the efficiency of off-road vehicles and wind turbines. He has received the Rudolf Kalman Best Paper Award from ASME twice, is a Fellow of the AAAS and ASME, and has received the Koski and Brahmah Medals.