Nikhilesh Chawla named Fulton Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at ASU
Nikhilish Chawla (standing) with doctoral student James Mertens. Photo credit Jessica Slater/ASU.
Nikhilesh Chawla has been named Fulton Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Arizona State University.
Chawla is a professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. In 2010, he served as acting chair of the materials science and engineering program. He serves on ASU President Michael Crow’s Academic Council, which provides input to the president on academic, structural and strategic matters.
Prior to joining ASU in 2000, he was a postdoctoral fellow jointly at Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan, and a senior development engineer at Hoeganaes Corporation.
Research overview
His research involves the mechanical behavior and modeling of advanced materials at bulk and small length scales, including 4D materials science, Pb-free solder alloys, composite materials and nanostructured materials. Chawla has co-authored over 140 refereed journal publications and 300 presentations in these areas. He is the author of the textbook Metal Matrix Composites (co-authored with K.K. Chawla), published by Springer.
Awards and distinctions
Chawla is a Fellow of ASM International, member and past board member of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS).
Among his many awards, Chawla is the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Lectureship given by Tsinghua University, China; 2009 Raymond Award for Best Paper by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME); 2006 TMS Young Leaders Tutorial Lecture; and the 2004 Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers, given by ASM International. He has also won the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.
Chawla serves on the editorial boards of Advanced Engineering Materials, Materials Characterization, Materials Science and Engineering A, and Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. His work has been featured on the show Modern Marvels on the History Channel, R&D News, Fox News and the Arizona Republic.
Chawla holds a B.S. in materials engineering from New Mexico Tech, an M.S. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
