About

 

Duke MEMS at a Glance: Facts and Stats

Rankings:

  • #12 nationally for doctoral programs in mechanical engineering by the National Research Council (2011)
  • #24 nationally among mechanical engineering doctoral programs by U.S. News & World Report (2010)
  • #8 in faculty productivity by the Chronicle of Higher Education (2007) as evidenced by publications and citations.

Department at a Glance:

  • 24 tenure track faculty
  • $6M in research expenditures
  • 80 graduate students (10 PhD graduates per year)
  • 75 BSE graduates per year

Highlights of the 2011-2012 Academic Year: 

  • Promotion to full professor - Stefano Curtarolo, Stefan Zauscher and Pei Zhong
  • New distinguished professors - Jennifer West and Omar Knio
  • Honorary Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Adrian Bejan
  • NSF IGERT doctoral traineeship -- Silvia Ferrari
  • Rhodes Scholar - Jared Dunnmon
  • Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - Kenneth Hall
  • Fellows, American Society of Mechanical Engineering - Laurens Howle and Pei Zhong
  • Fellow, Institute of Physics - Stefano Curtarolo

Highlights of the 2010-2011 Academic Year:

  • Lyapunov Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Earl Dowell
  • NIH Merit Award - - Innovations in Shock Wave Lithotripsy Technology - Pei Zhong
  • National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award - Chuan-Hua Chen

Highlights of the 2009-2010 Academic Year:

  • DARPA Young Faculty Award - Chuan-Hua Chen
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee - Devendra Garg
  • NIH grant review study section for cancer nanotechnology partnership - David Needham

Highlights of the 2008-2009 Academic Year:

  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) - Stefano Curtarolo
  • National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award – Chuan Hua Chen
  • 2008 Young Investigator Award in Experimental Science, International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences – Stefan Zauscher
  • Oak Ridge Associated Universities Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award - Chuan-Hua Chen
  • 2008 Daniel Guggenheim Medal Award – Earl Dowell
  • Bronze Medal, Army Science Conference – Stefan Zauscher, Pei Zhong
  • Best Paper Award Force Protection /Survivability session, Army Science Conference – Stefan Zauscher, Pei Zhong
  • Representative to the United States National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Acoustical Society of America (ASA) – Linda Franzoni

Department faculty structure:    

  • 11 Professors
  • 6 Associate Professors
  • 6 Assistant Professors
  • 4 Emeriti Professors
  • 1 Research Faculty
  • 1 Faculty of the Practice
  • 9 Secondary Faculty
  • The faculty includes multiple AIAA and ASME Fellows, NSF CAREER Awardees, ONR Young Investigators and PECASE Awardees

Research Groups:

  • Acoustics
  • Aerodynamics & Fluid Dynamics
  • Biomechanics & Biomaterials
  • Dynamics & Controls
  • Energy Tech & Thermodynamics
  • Manufacturing
  • Mechanics & Material Science

Research Centers

  • Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems
  • Triangle Materials Research Science and Engineering Center

Undergraduate Program

  • 75 BSE graduates per year
  • Double majors with Computer Science, Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Economics
  • Aerospace and Energy certificates
  • Duke, Pratt, Chambers Fellowship award winners
  • The Home Depot Smart Home, Electric Car, Duke Motorsports, Robotics competitions, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics chapter
  • Engage early in research

Graduate Program

  • 60 PhD students and 20 Masters students
  • THRUST international master's program in aerodynamics
  • Funding sources are DOD, NSF, NIH, non-government & Industry, and other foundations
  • Students eligible for highly competitive Duke and Pratt fellowships