Bringing together ” cool stuff ”
Greetings , colleagues .
AZIM ESKANDARIAN
Department Head , and Nicholas and Rebecca Des Champs Chair / Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
As many around the nation have received or continue to receive vaccines , we are hopeful and looking forward to returning to more normal times soon . Despite the persisting pandemic challenges , our faculty , staff , and students have shown unprecedented resiliency and adaptation . Consistently , our faculty and students ’ research and creative work have also continued to advance at an incredible rate . We have seen cover features , national news pickups , invitations from the industry , and a host of other notables . As we remain vigilant in stopping the spread of COVID-19 , our faculty have found ways to thrive even under the most challenging circumstances . You will find a few examples of their outstanding achievements and progress in this issue .
Associate Professor Amrinder Nain ’ s team has worked with a colleague from biomedical engineering to develop a novel approach in cellular mechanics using electroporation . This is an excellent opportunity to expand molecular medicine , genetic engineering , and cellular biophysics .
Professor Mike Roan has had an incredible start to the year , as his work to develop audible safety measures for electric vehicles has been both funded and featured . We are proud of Assistant Professor Pinar Acar , who received the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award , studying magnetic fields ’ changes for components intended to replace rare-earth metals .
We are excited to name two new John R . Jones III Faculty Fellows , bringing the Jones family ’ s legacy to light once again . Associate Professors Bahareh Behkam and Jonathan Boreyko both have produced some fascinating research throughout the years . It is a joy to see the deserving recognition of their outstanding work with this prestigious faculty fellowship .
Finally , among our notable recognitions , I am honored to report that Dr . Lance Collins , mechanical engineering professor and Vice President for Virginia Tech ’ s Innovation Campus , was elected to the National Academy of Engineering . We will have a separate story about his great achievements in forthcoming volumes .
As always , I am proud to be part of this team . One of our staff recently summed it up nicely that I would like to share with you : “ we just do cool stuff .” Indeed we do , and I am honored to be able to share our stories with you .
With best regards , Azim Eskandarian