Professor Yonggang Huang Receives Recognition
Professor Yonggang Huang has been recognized both at Northwestern and in National Societies for both his teaching and research. Professor Huang was recently awarded the Cole-Higgins Award for Teaching at Northwestern and will be receiving 2 Medals from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Engineering Science.
Huang received the 2016 Cole-Higgins Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Huang, who develops mechanical models for stretchable and flexible electronics, was cited for engaging teaching manner and for encouraging students to develop their own problem-solving styles. “Professor Huang did not only meet all the criteria for being an excellent teacher, but he also was an amazing educator,” one student nominator wrote. “He would stay after class to discuss and explain concepts with students. He was open to changing the course of the class to test a student's different method of going about a problem. He also was very encouraging and funny, which made class more than enjoyable. His teaching style made learning exciting.”
Professor Yonggang Huang has been selected by the Materials Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to receive the Nadai Medal this year. The Nadai Medal is awarded in recognition of significant contributions and outstanding achievements which broaden the field of materials engineering. Such achievements may be, for example, in the areas of education, research, development, and service to the field and profession.
The Nadai Medal was established in 1975 on the proposal of the Materials Division to honor Arpad L. Nadai, who was a pioneer in the field of engineering materials, contributing particularly to the area of plasticity. His perspective also enabled him to give strong impetus to development in fatigue and high temperature behavior.
Professor Huang is the third Northwestern Professor to receive the Nadai medal following the likes of Professor Zdeněk Bažant (2008) and L. Catherine Brinson (2014).
Additionally, Professor Huang has been selected to receive the prestigious William Prager Medal from the Society of Engineering Science. The medal is given annually to a researcher for “outstanding contributions in theoretical or experimental solid mechanics.”
Huang is Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, professor of mechanical engineering, and professor of materials science and engineering in Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. He will officially receive the award next year at the society’s annual conference.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Prager Medal,” Huang said. “It is particularly meaningful to be named among Northwestern’s past recipients — Zdenek Bazant, Jan Achenbach, and Ted Belytschko.”
The award is named for William Prager, who was an applied mathematician and early leader in the field of theoretical and applied mechanics. Even though he never met Prager, Huang considers him as an “academic great-grandfather.” Huang’s PhD adviser at Harvard University was John Hutchinson, who was advised by Bernard Budiansky, who was advised by Prager.
Huang, who develops mechanical models for stretchable and flexible electronics, is already having a good year. In May, he was selected to receive the Nadai Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) — the society’s highest honor in its materials division. Earlier this month, he received Northwestern Engineering’s Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Huang’s other awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Young Investigator Medal from the Society of Engineering Sciences, and the International Journal of Plasticity Medal. An ISI Highly Cited Research in Engineering and Materials Science, he also received the Larson Memorial Award, Melville Medal, Richards Memorial Award, and Drucker Medal — all from ASME.