Blandinos Establish Scholarships in Mechanical Engineering

“So to me, what’s fun with the undergraduates is you’re there at the ‘aha’ moment, when they really start to see how what they learned really can be applied.” That’s what Col. Joseph “Joe” Blandino, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering, has to say about the joy he receives from teaching and mentoring cadets. It’s a joy he shares with his wife, Col. Joyce Blandino, Ph.D., also professor of mechanical engineering, who holds the distinction of being the first tenured female faculty member in the engineering disciplines at VMI. What’s more, the Blandinos are not only faculty members but generous supporters of VMI, as well, having established two scholarships in the mechanical engineering department.

The Blandinos’ story began when they met as graduate students at the University of Virginia. Two years later, they married, and 3 years after that, Joe accepted a position at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. VMI, though, was already on his radar thanks to his friend, Marshall Coyle ’76, Ph.D., whom he’d met in graduate school.

When a position opened at VMI in 2007, Joe applied and got an interview. Right away, he was impressed with Brig. Gen. Charles F. “Casey” Brower IV, Ph.D., then-dean of the faculty, who was as committed to undergraduate research as he was. What’s more, VMI’s military culture felt familiar, as Joe had commissioned into the U.S. Air Force from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering on a 3-year AFROTC scholarship.

“I really felt, as soon as I set foot on post, this is where I fit in,” he noted. Since coming to VMI, Joe Blandino has continued his research with NASA and helped several cadets find internships and employment opportunities.

Joyce Blandino, meanwhile, brings a unique background to post, having earned a degree in life sciences with a concentration in bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an undergraduate and then earning both a Master of Science degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia.

At VMI, she’s forged those interests into a unique lab for cadets interested in biomechanics and other aspects of human performance—interests that often dovetail nicely with VMI’s exercise science minor. More than 10 years ago, she partnered with Col. Michael “Mike” Krackow, Ph.D., in what’s now the Department of Human Performance and Wellness (formerly physical education) to establish the biomechanics laboratory, with equipment provided by a Jackson-Hope Fund grant. The lab has enabled countless cadets to conduct research with real-world implications, like developing affordable prosthetic limbs and helping the elderly avoid falls.

For both Joe and Joyce, watching cadets develop from scared rats to confident 1st Class cadets who can contribute to the knowledge base in their field is their favorite part of teaching at VMI.

Both describe their classrooms as interactive, and Socratic questioning is often a big part of the classroom dynamic.

Joe described interviewing a potential faculty member who asked what he’d be most surprised about in teaching at VMI. “If you’re going to be a faculty member who’s going to just try and lecture from PowerPoints here, you’re going to fail miserably,” he replied. “The classroom dynamic in this department is fantastic, and I couldn’t imagine it being any better anywhere else in the world.”

“Here, I can really make a difference in people’s lives,” said Joyce. Like Joe, she formerly taught at James Madison University and experienced the blur of faces that life at a large university brings. “And you never really knew where they ended up, or whatever turned out, or whatever happened [to them]. Here at VMI, you kind of know where the story went.”

“That’s actually one of the benefits here is the relationships you establish with [cadets],” Joe agreed. “The connections seem to last a lot longer. The ties are a lot tighter.”

Looking around Joyce’s office, it’s easy to see those ties: The walls are covered with photos of smiling cadets on graduation day—and as of the 2025–26 academic year, one of those faces is a face they see in the hall each day. Maj. John V. “Jack” Wilkins ’16, Ph.D., who was once Joyce’s advisee, has returned to the Institute as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

“What you see if you’ve been at VMI a long time—where you see your students come back and become faculty—is this place is transformative,” Joe noted.

Driving some of the excellence that makes VMI transformative, of course, is funding—and the Blandinos and their cadets have benefited not only from the Jackson-Hope Fund but also the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute and the Benjamin H. Powell Jr. ’36 Institute Professorship in Engineering, which Joe currently holds. Now, he and Joyce believe, it’s time to give back.

“Certainly the Powell professorship provided a stipend that helped us as we were getting established and our kids were young and then going to college, and now, fortunately, we’re at a point in life where we can pay that money back with interest,” he commented.

In gratitude for all they’ve received, and with a desire to support future cadets as the cost of higher education continues to rise, in 2024 the Blandinos established the Blandino Scholarship for Academic Achievement in Mechanical Engineering for 2nd and 1st Class cadets majoring in that discipline. The scholarship’s focus is retaining high-quality students in the ME program.

Most recently, Joe established the Dr. Joyce K. Blandino Mechanical Engineering Scholarship in gratitude for all his wife has done for the department. “You can hardly walk by her office without a [cadet] being in there,” he stated. He added that Joyce doesn’t just teach engineering or biomechanics—very often, she teaches cadets vital skills, like how to take and organize notes. With that emphasis on foundational skills, it’s therefore appropriate that the scholarship bearing Joyce’s name is for rats, with the goal of attracting high-quality students into the department.

Joe noted that ideally, he and Joyce won’t be the only ones supporting the scholarships. “I think, for us, the most rewarding part is that it’s not just something we’re doing, but it grows to where mechanical engineering alums really feel that they got something worthwhile from what we taught them and what they got out of the program and are willing to help support that,” he stated.