Two New McCormick Professors Nominated As New Faces in Engineering

February 19, 2007

José Andrade, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Dean Ho, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, have been nominated for the New Faces of Engineering program held in conjunction with Engineering Week, February 18-24, 2007. The program highlights the interesting and unique work of young engineers and the resulting impact on society. Andrade and Ho both joined the McCormick faculty in fall 2006.

José Andrade was nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work in geomechanics. His research is focused on the understanding, modeling, simulation, and quantitative prediction of complex mechanical systems, with special application to geomechanics. Andrade studies modeling instabilities in multi-phase porous media under static and dynamic loading by developing robust constitutive models and efficient techniques in computational inelasticity and finite element procedures. His research has the potential to provide a better framework for the prediction and avoidance of catastrophic failures, such as landslides.

Dean Ho was nominated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE recognized Ho for his work in the emerging areas of bio-nano-technology and protein-functionalized materials. Addressing the need for the development of novel renewable energy sources, Ho was among the first to demonstrate protein coupling with a polymer-based membrane to fabricate bio-inspired energy systems. His work in this field has resulted in bio-functional composites that are only 4 nanometers thick, signifying their potential as high power density biosolar coatings. In addition to converting light energy into photoelectricity, these films were interfaced with fuel cell proton exchange membranes, to reduce proton leakage and enhance fuel cell efficiency. Ho is currently developing functionalized nanowire/nanotube devices for spinal cord injury patients as well as novel nanomaterials for drug delivery applications.