22 MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Bahareh Behkam named John R . Jones III Faculty Fellow
Bahareh Behkam , associate professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech , has been awarded the John R . Jones III Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors .
The Jones Faculty Fellowship was established in 2006 to acknowledge and reward mid-career faculty who have shown exceptional merit in research , teaching , and service . Jones , a member of the Class of 1967 who earned his bachelor ’ s degree in mechanical engineering , is a retired executive of American Electric Power . He has been a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board since 1998 .
Recipients hold the title of Jones Faculty Fellow for a period of five years .
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2008 , Behkam is an internationally recognized leader in biohybrid microrobotics . Behkam ’ s research expertise is in micro / nanoscale systems engineering , with a focus on biomedical applications . Her research is highly interdisciplinary and combines knowledge and methodology from engineering and biological sciences to advance fundamental understanding in both disciplines and apply that understanding to develop new technology .
Her lab ’ s current research thrust areas are in ( i ) bio-hybrid micro / nano-robotics and living machines , and ( ii ) interfacial mechanics of pathogen-biomaterial and pathogen-host cell interactions . Specific foci include engineering bacterial communities for collaborative task completion , developing a bacteria-based drug delivery platform for cancer therapy , investigating bacterial and fungal adhesion and biofilm formation , and studying mammalian cell migration in multi-cue environments .
She has mentored eight Ph . D ., 11 master ’ s , and 45 undergraduate students . Together with her students and collaborators , Behkam has published one book , three book chapters , and more than 60 journal and peer-reviewed conference proceedings papers . Her articles have appeared in such prestigious journals as Advanced Science , ACS Nano , ACS Applied Materials and Interface , Lab on Chip , and ACS Synthetic Biology . The research work from