Jun 12, 2023 | No Comments | By Sarah Preis
Jaafar El-Awady will take on the role of interim director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute as of July 1. El-Awady, a professor in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, will lead the institute during the international search for HEMI’s permanent director.
El-Awady is the associate director of the Center on Artificial Intelligence for Materials in Extreme Environments (CAIMEE) and the Center for Integrated Structure-Materials Modeling and Simulations (CISMMS). In addition to these roles, he is the founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Computational and Experimental Materials Engineering Laboratory.
El-Awady’s research aims to further the fundamental understanding of the underlying deformation mechanisms in materials. He has received many awards throughout his career, including the National Science Foundation’s Early CAREER Award, a Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award, and the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award.
As interim director, El-Awady will be tasked with enabling the continuation of HEMI’s innovative research, extensive collaborative efforts, and reputation as a destination for the study of materials in extreme environments.
El-Awady has been involved with the institute since 2012. “HEMI has definitely had a strong impact on my career,” said El-Awady, reflecting on his early days as a junior assistant professor. “HEMI was a great forum for discussing and establishing new collaborations with an interdisciplinary, world-class group of faculty and scientists focused on materials in extreme environments.”
Of his new role as interim director, El-Awady said, “It is an honor to serve in this new role during this transition period of HEMI. I look forward to working with the Hopkins materials community in continuing HEMI’s mission in conducting groundbreaking research for the study and design of materials in extreme environments.”
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