Hsia named AAAS Fellow

Mechanical Science and Engineering professor Jimmy Hsia has been elected to the rank of Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Hsia joins an elite group of Fellows whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished,” according to AAAS. Hsia’s official induction ceremony will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia in February 2012.

Hsia’s research interests include deformation and failure mechanisms of materials at ambient and elevated temperatures, micro/nanomechanics of materials, and nanoscale phenomena in biomaterials. He serves as the University of Illinois’ associate vice chancellor for research for new initiatives, as well as the associate director of the National Science Foundation Center for Emergent Behaviors in Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS).

He came to Illinois in 1991, joining the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM), and then came to MechSE when TAM merged with Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in 2005 to form the new department. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990.

AAAS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. Founded in 1848, AAAS serves some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. AAAS is a global organization, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, U.K., and award-winning news correspondents reporting from an array of countries. AAAS seeks to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people."