Four MechSE faculty win NSF CAREER Awards

Four MechSE assistant professors have received NSF CAREER Awards for 2016. This marks the first time the department has had four faculty members receive this prestigious award in the same year.

 

Elif Ertekin joined MechSE in 2011. Her research includes computational modeling, nanoscale mechanical properties, energy storage and conversion, and defect-property relationships. Her CAREER Award was for research titled, “Designing Functionality Into Two-Dimensional Materials Through Defects, Topology, and Disorder.”

 

Yuhang Hu joined the department in 2015. Her research includes mechanics of soft materials, as well as bio-inspired materials and devices. Her CAREER Award was for research titled, “Mechanics and Physics at the Boundary Between Solid and Fluid: Probing the Thermodynamic and Kinetic Properties of Gels.”

 

Nenad Miljkovic’s MechSE career began in 2014. He studies phase change heat transfer (boiling, evaporation, condensation, and freezing), fluid mechanics, micro/nanofabrication, interfacial phenomena, and solar energy conversion. His CAREER Award was for research titled, “Investigation of Nucleation Dynamics on Nanoengineered Surfaces for Durable and High Heat Flux Condensation Phase Change Applications.”

 

SungWoo Nam began his career here in 2012. His research covers nanoscale materials, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), flexible electronics, and nanobio interface. His CAREER Award was for his research titled “Corrugated Graphene Superlattice Structures by Strain-induced Shrink Nanomanufacturing.” 

 

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. 

 

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