Huajian Gao (, born December 7, 1963) is a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

mechanician A mechanician is an engineer or a scientist working in the field of mechanics, or in a related or sub-field: engineering or computational mechanics, applied mechanics, geomechanics, biomechanics, and mechanics of materials. Names other than mecha ...

who is widely known for his contributions to the field of

solid mechanics Solid mechanics, also known as mechanics of solids, is the branch of continuum mechanics that studies the behavior of solid materials, especially their motion and deformation under the action of forces, temperature changes, phase changes, and ...

, particularly on the

micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer *Chii Tomiya (都宮ちい ...

- and nanomechanics of

thin film A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ...

s, hierarchically structured materials, and cell-

nanomaterial * Nanomaterials describe, in principle, materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale). Nanomaterials research takes a materials science-based approach to nan ...

interactions. He is a Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and Walter H. Annenberg Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Brown University. He is the editor-in-chief of Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. Gao was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2012 for contributions to

micromechanics Micromechanics (or, more precisely, micromechanics of materials) is the analysis of composite or heterogeneous materials on the level of the individual constituents that constitute these materials. Aims of micromechanics of materials Heterogeneo ...

thin films A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ...

and hierarchically structured materials. In 2021 he received the

Timoshenko Medal The Timoshenko Medal is an award given annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to an individual "in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics." The Timoshenko Medal, widely regarded as t ...

for "pioneering contributions to nanomechanics of engineering and biological systems."

Education and career

Huajian Gao was born in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

on December 7, 1963. He received his B.S. in Engineering Mechanics from

Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU, ) is a public research university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. As a member of Double First Class University Plan, C9 League, Project 985, and Project 211, it is a leading national university with special strengths ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1982, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in

Engineering Science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1984 and 1988, respectively. He taught at Stanford University between 1988 and 2002, where he was promoted to Associate Professor with

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

in 1994 and to full Professor in 2000. He joined the Max Planck Society in 2001 as a Director at the

Max Planck Institute for Metals Research Founded on 18 March 2011, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) is one of the 86 research institutes of the Max Planck Society. With locations in Stuttgart and Tübingen, it combines interdisciplinary research in the growing ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany. In 2006 he moved to Brown University as the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering. In 2019, he joined Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University as 2019 Distinguished University Professors, also jointly affiliated as scientific director of Institute of High Performance Computing,

A*STAR The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. The agency supports R&D that is aligned to areas of competitive advantage and national needs for Singapore ...

, Singapore. Gao is the editor of the ''Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids''.

Research

Gao has a background in

applied mechanics Applied mechanics is the branch of science concerned with the motion of any substance that can be experienced or perceived by humans without the help of instruments. In short, when mechanics concepts surpass being theoretical and are applied and e ...

and

engineering science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

. His research interests span over

Solid Mechanics Solid mechanics, also known as mechanics of solids, is the branch of continuum mechanics that studies the behavior of solid materials, especially their motion and deformation under the action of forces, temperature changes, phase changes, and ...

, Nanomechanics and

Biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...

. He works on mechanics of thin films and hierarchically structured materials, mechanics of biological and bio-inspired materials, mechanics of nanostructured and nanotwinned materials, mechanics of cell adhesion, mechanics of cell-nanomaterials interactions, mechanics of energy storage systems, and mechanics of metallic glasses.

Awards

Gao received academic honors including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1995 and the

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...

from Germany and Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics from the

International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics The International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) is an affiliation of about 500 mechanicians in about 50 countries, and involving about 20 associated organizations, including the International Council for Science (ICSU). The p ...

(IUTAM) in 2012. He was elected to the

in 2012, to the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

(as a foreign academician) in 2015, the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founde ...

in 2017, the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 2019. In 2021 he received the

for "pioneering contributions to nanomechanics of engineering and biological systems."

References

External links

Huajian Gao's group homepage
*
Full CV
at Brown University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Huajian 1963 births Living people People from Chengdu Engineers from Sichuan Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Chinese emigrants to the United States Xi'an Jiaotong University alumni Stanford University faculty Brown University faculty Educators from Sichuan Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Max Planck Institute directors