5/2/2024
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Michael Kessler (MSTAM 1998, PhDTAM 2002) was one of this year’s recipients of the MechSE Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who have established careers and have served in a professional and technical capacity to honor the department and the university. To date, nearly 200 MechSE alumni have received this award.
Kessler is the Louis M. Sardella Department Head and Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. An expert in the mechanics, processing, and characterization of polymer matrix composites and nanocomposites, his research interests include the development of multifunctional self-healing materials, polymer matrix composites for extreme environments, bio-renewable polymers and composites, and the evaluation of these materials using experimental mechanics and thermal analysis.
From 2017 until joining JHU in 2023, Kessler was the dean of the College of Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU), a Carnegie Classified R1 institution, where he guided the college towards academic excellence; promoted a culture of research, innovation and scholarship; and represented its students, faculty, and staff at the university level and beyond.
Prior to that position, Kessler was the Berry Family Director of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) at Washington State University (WSU), where he served as the chief academic and administrative officer for the School of MME and was charged with providing leadership to define and advance the school’s academic and research agendas. In addition, he was the founding co-director of the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) co-located at Washington State University and Iowa State University (and now North Dakota State University) that focuses on developing high-value bio-based products from agricultural and forestry feedstock and sponsored by about 30 member companies and the NSF.
Kessler began his tenure-track faculty career in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU), where he won the “Triple Crown” of young investigator awards, receiving prestigious young investigator grants from the NSF (CAREER), the Army Research Office, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
During his academic career he developed an active research group with external funding of more than $25M, with funding from the NSF, ACS Petroleum Research Fund, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, and NASA. He has authored over 260 peer-reviewed journal papers and conference proceedings, holds over 20 U.S. patents, edited 14 books, presented over 200 talks at national and international meetings, and serves as a frequent reviewer and referee in his field. His publications have been cited more than 21,000 times by other researchers. He is the past president of the North American Thermal Analysis Society (NATAS) and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society for Engineering Education, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Royal Society of Chemistry, ASM International, and NATAS, and a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.
Kessler served on the MechSE Alumni Board for several terms, the most recent of which ended in 2023. He was honored at the MechSE Spring Awards Banquet April 19, where he remarked on the lessons learned during the early days of his graduate career.
“I was so fortunate to have had amazing mentors that I learned from, and learned multidisciplinary teamwork – we worked on a project on self-healing polymers that got some press at the time for our interdisciplinary team of students from chemistry and mechanics and other areas. But I really appreciated the opportunity to work in that environment and I carried it with me throughout my career. I’ve been really thankful for that foundation.”