Professor recognized by alma mater for excellence as an educator
April 27, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) chair in computational solid mechanics received recognition for excellence in engineering education at an April 24 ceremony.
Dr. Mark Horstemeyer accepted the Thomas French Achievement Award from Ohio State University at their annual Mechanical Engineering Honors and Awards ceremony. The award recognizes Buckeye alumni who have distinguished themselves as educators in the field of engineering.
“I feel extremely blessed to receive this award form Ohio State, especially considering all of the great people who have graduated from their mechanical engineering department,” Horstemeyer said. “It attest to the fact that research at Mississippi State can be and is recognized in a national manner.”
This award is the newest addition to Horstemeyer’s resume, which already lists his selection as an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow. Other recent additions include MSU’s highest research recognition, the Ralph E. Powe Award, and back-to-back Society of Automotive Engineering Teeter Awards.
Horstemeyer joined the Bagley College of Engineering as CAVS’ senior manager of computational manufacturing and design thrust and a chair professor of mechanical engineering. In 2004, he became a computational engineering professor. He has mentored more than 75 students helping ensure their success at the university. In addition to his regular teaching duties, he has worked with other faculty members to introduce new courses, creating a degree-supplementing automotive engineering certificate.
An active researcher, his work focuses on structure-property constitutive modeling, finite deformation inelasticity, damage evolution, fracture, nanoindention, composites, electromigration-stress voiding, fatigue, penetration, and impact; numerical modeling of nano- and microstructural mechanics; atomistic modeling; finite element analyses of manufacturing methods such as forming, forging, and other metal processing methods. With this expertise, Horstemeyer has founded two design research bodies in the past four years. He also serves as senior scientist of the Department of Defense Simulation Based Reliability and Safety Center.
Horstemeyer earned an engineering mechanics master’s degree from Ohio State in 1987. He also holds a bachelor’s from West Virginia University and a doctorate from Georgia Tech. Prior to entering the field of academia he spent 15 years moving up the ranks at the Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif.
The Thomas French Achievement Award is presented annually to an alumnus of Ohio State’s mechanical engineering department. Thomas French was an 1895 graduate of Ohio State who went on to serve as a professor of engineering drawing, introducing new teaching methods and authoring a popular textbook.
For more information, contact Dr. Horstemeyer.