Jun 24, 2024 | No Comments | By Sarah Preis
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN, SENT TO WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING FACULTY AND STAFF 6/24/2024
Dear WSE faculty and staff,
It is my pleasure to share that Tim Rupert, Engr ’07, ’07 (MSE), will be joining us from the University of California Irvine on July 1 as a professor of materials science and engineering and the new director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute.
Tim’s research encompasses metallurgy, nanostructured materials, and defect science and engineering. While he is bringing plenty of his own projects and ideas to the institute, Tim is passionate about leading, enabling, and facilitating the work of others. To that end, he seeks to expand targeted facets of HEMI’s research portfolio while increasing meaningful engagement with existing fellows and collaborators.
Tim led the creation of the University of California Irvine’s Materials Discovery and Synthesis Center, where he served as director. This user facility enables members of the materials science community to create and discover new metallic and ceramic materials, from nanomaterials to bulk specimens. Tim was also instrumental in bringing the first NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers grant to Irvine for the Center for Complex and Active Materials.
Tim is a fellow of ASM International and has received the ASM International Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers. He is a recipient of other notable awards, including the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, Army Research Office Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, Department of Energy Early Career Research Program Award, and AIME-TMS Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award.
Tim succeeds Jaafar El-Awady, interim director of HEMI and professor in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. Under Jaafar’s leadership, HEMI maintained its status as a global hub where experts in materials science, mechanical engineering, and other fields come together to explore the science behind what happens to materials, structures, and systems under extreme conditions.
Founded in 2012, HEMI features more than 50 faculty members from the Whiting School of Engineering, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory. HEMI researchers strive to tackle the world’s greatest challenges by examining them at their most fundamental levels, focusing on materials and structures under extreme conditions and demonstrating extreme performance. Fellows engage in collaborative research activities with peers from other academic institutions, government laboratories, and private companies.
Historically, the bulk of HEMI’s research has been heavily focused on materials for dynamic environments and defense. Moving forward, Tim hopes to maintain strengths in these areas while also broadening what the institute considers “extreme materials” by diversifying the applications and funding sources considered by HEMI fellows. He hopes to cultivate deeper engagement with Hopkins faculty focused on high-temperature materials, fusion energy materials, and nanostructured materials, while encouraging complementary materials discovery and synthesis activities.
Please join me in welcoming Tim back to the Whiting School and thanking Jaafar for his leadership and guidance.
Sincerely,
Ed Schlesinger
Benjamin T. Rome Dean
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