News & Events

02-09-10

Julia Greer, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering, and Dongchan Jang, Postdoctoral Scholar, have developed a way to make some notoriously brittle materials ductile—yet stronger than ever—simply by reducing their size. Professor Greer describes, "We are entering a new era in materials science, where structural materials can be created not only by utilizing monolith structures, like ceramics and metals, but also by introducing 'architectural' features into them." [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS research highlights MCE Julia Greer Dongchan Jang postdocs

01-26-10

The dual master's degree program between Caltech and École Polytechnique in Aerospace Engineering or Aeronautics and Fluid Mechanics has won the Institute of International Education Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education, in the category of International Exchange Partnerships. The dual degree program spans two academic years; students spend a year at each institution and completed a six month internship in academic or industrial laboratories. Along with the two partnering institutions the program is also supported by the Partner University Fund. [Program Overview]

Tags: GALCIT MCE Guruswami Ravichandran École Polytechnique

01-05-10

Congratulations to Swaminathan Krishnan, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Geophysics, whose simulations of earthquakes and structural response has won the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's 2009 Annual Graphics Competition. [View the submission]

Tags: research highlights MCE Swaminathan Krishnan

01-04-10

The Los Angeles Times magazine has featured Ares Rosakis, EAS Chair; Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, as a visionary - "someone who has the perception to see past entrenched, received ideas about what is possible and conjure revolutionary concepts." In the article entitled "Information Sage" Chair Rosakis discusses the IST initiative and highlights the interconnectedness of the research being conducted in the EAS division.

Tags: GALCIT MCE Ares Rosakis

12-24-09

Congratulations to Michael Ortiz, Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, who has been awarded a Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship by the Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich (TUM). This Fellowship is named after TUM Professor Hans Fischer (1881-1945) who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1930 for his pioneering work on hemoglobin.

Tags: GALCIT MCE Michael Ortiz

11-04-09

Congratulation to Julia R. Greer, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering, for been selected to participate in the DARPA Young Faculty Award program. She is among 33 "rising stars" from 24 U.S. universities who each will receive grants of approximately $300,000. Greer's project is aimed at understanding and subsequently mimicking the superior mechanical robustness and strength of naturally occurring protective layers—such as nacre, or mother of pearl, a composite produced by some mollusks to line their inner shell—to create strong, ductile, damage-tolerant materials that maintain a relatively low density. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS honors MCE Julia Greer

11-04-09

Sergio Pellegrino, Professor of Aeronautics and Civil Engineering and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist, has received the NASA Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award as a member of the superpressure balloon team. The award is for sound engineering and operational development, outstanding teamwork, and perseverance in building a new scientific balloon capability for NASA.

Tags: honors research highlights GALCIT MCE Sergio Pellegrino

11-04-09

Timothy E. Colonius, Professor of Mechanical Engineering has been elected Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as being chosen by the membership to serve on the executive committee of the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society.

Tags: honors MCE fluid dynamics Tim Colonius

11-02-09

James K. Knowles, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Applied Mechanics, Emeritus, passed away on Sunday November 1, 2009. He was a remarkable teacher and mentor; he inspired and influenced generations of students and scholars. He made fundamental research contributions to the Theory of Nonlinear Elasticity, to Wave Propagation and Phase Transformations. His seminal contributions were recognized by the Eringen Medal of the Society of Engineering Science and the Koiter Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Tags: MCE EAS history James Knowles

10-23-09

Sandra Troian, Professor of Applied Physics, Aeronautics, and Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Mathias Dietzel have uncovered the physical mechanism by which arrays of nanoscale pillars can be grown on polymer films with very high precision, in potentially limitless patterns. "This is an example of how basic understanding of the principles of physics and mechanics can lead to unexpected discoveries which may have far-reaching, practical implications," said Ares Rosakis, Division Chair and Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering at Caltech. "This is the real strength of the EAS division." [Caltech Press Release] [video] [Download real player]

Tags: APhMS research highlights GALCIT MCE Sandra Troian