David Henann, the James R. Rice Associate Professor of Engineering at Brown, has been selected to receive the 2020 Eshelby Mechanics Award for Young Faculty. The award is given annually to emerging junior faculty who exemplify the creative use and development of mechanics. It includes a $1,500 cash prize and a commemorative plaque and will be formally presented at the 2021 Applied Mechanics Division banquet at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers-International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (ASME-IMECE) meeting.
The Henann Research Group at Brown focuses on problems in soft-matter mechanics using theoretical and computational modeling. He and his students develop new continuum-level constitutive theories for describing material behavior and apply the models to engineering problems through numerical simulation. Ongoing research for the group includes: 1. Constitutive modeling of flow and size-segregation in dense granular materials, 2. Large-deformation, viscoelastic constitutive modeling of elastomeric foams with application to improved foam helmet pads, and 3. Modeling of inertial microcavitation in soft materials.
Henann received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Binghamton University in 2006, followed by his S.M. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT in 2008 and 2011, respectively. After postdoctoral appointments at MIT and Harvard, he joined the faculty at Brown in the fall of 2013. He was the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award in 2016 and the same year was awarded the Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal from ASME. In 2016, he was also honored for his teaching by the students of Tau Beta Pi with the School of Engineering Dedicated Faculty Award.
The Eshelby Mechanics Award, established in 2012, intends to promote the field of mechanics, especially among young researchers. It commemorates the memory of Professor John Douglas Eshelby. The ideal awardee demonstrates clear inspiration from mechanics in their research. The selection committee consists of five editors or editorial board members of mechanics journals.