Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Deborah Chung, PhD, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is internationally renowned for her groundbreaking research and inventions in materials science and engineering, particularly smart materials, multifunctional structural materials, thermal management, battery electrode materials, carbon fibers and nanofibers, composite materials and their interfaces, electronic packaging materials, electromagnetic interference shielding materials, and vibration damping materials. She is best known for her invention of smart concrete, a concrete that is itself a sensor of strain and damage. A highly prolific scholar, Chung has over 600 journal publications, which have garnered over 44,000 citations. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023.