UC Irvine lands top UCLA researcher

UC Irvine has scored a double coup in enticing an award-winning

engineer and the research program he heads away from UCLA.

Satya Atluri, whose research has led to greater aircraft safety and

durability, will join the Henry Samueli School of Engineering this month.

Atluri will hold an endowed chair in the Department of Mechanical and

Aerospace Engineering and will head the Center for Aerospace Research and

Education.

“Atluri is internationally know for his computational modeling of

aerospace structures and aircraft,” said Nicolaos Alexopoulos, dean of

the engineering school.

Atluri’s widely cited research bridges several disciplines and has

shed light on the workings of complex biological and mechanical systems.

His projects include a mathematical model to pinpoint when helicopter

rotors and other heavily used components fail so as to make these

aircraft damage-proof. In another project, he is trying to explain how

inorganic and organic materials could work together to improve human

health.

He is also working with the Federal Aviation Administration to design

small, inexpensive sensors to wirelessly match airport passengers to

their baggage.

“I was impressed by the faculty and administration at UCI and foresee

great potential for growth here,” Atluri said in a press release.

Atluri is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and received

its Outstanding Achievement Award in 1995.