Professor Arvind Agarwal elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Professor Arvind Agarwal, chair of  FIU’s Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and director of the  Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute, has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. In November, the organization announced the election of a standout group of individuals across scientific disciplines to the newest class of AAAS Fellows, among the most distinct honors within the scientific community. AAAS bestows the honor to these newly awarded Fellows in recognition of their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements in the scientific enterprise.

“Agarwal was elected for his distinguished contributions to advanced materials, plasma spraying and carbon nanotube composites, biomechanics, bioengineering, nanotechnology and graphene foam reinforced advanced materials for deicing, which is of great benefit to aerodynamics,” said Sudip Parikh, CEO and executive publisher of Science family of journals. “He is an exceptional engineer and researcher, and we congratulate him for his countless contributions to his field.”

The 2021 class of AAAS Fellows includes 564 scientists, engineers and innovators from around the world spanning scientific disciplines. The new class hails from academic institutions, laboratories, hospitals and medical centers, museums, global corporations, nonprofit organizations, institutes and government agencies.

“I am greatly humbled and honored," Agarwal said. "The credit goes to my former and current students. I am also thankful to FIU, which has supported these efforts and built world-class facilities for research on advanced materials and manufacturing."

Agarwal joined the FIU Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering as an assistant professor in November 2002. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in materials science and Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1999. After obtaining his Ph.D., Agarwal worked as the materials scientist at Plasma Processes Inc. in Huntsville, Alabama, for three years. 

His current research interests include nanocomposites and coatings, thermal spray including cold spray, surface engineering, nanomechanics and nanotribology, bioceramic coating, nanomechanics of biological cells and spark plasma sintering. He has authored more than 350 publications in international journals and conferences; edited four books; co-authored three books; and holds 10 U.S. patents. He also serves on the editorial boards of six journals and has organized numerous symposiums for the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) and ASM International in “Surface Engineering” and “Nanomaterials.”

Last year, Agarwal received a five-year, $22.9 million grant from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory to advance additive manufacturing technologies that aid in the repair, design and durability of high-performance materials that will be used to manufacture next-generation vehicles and munitions.

The development of high deposition structural alloys and novel additive manufacturing processing techniques from computational models is essential toward the prediction of material properties and the implementation of new structural alloys into Army weapons systems. 

Using state-of-the-art automation, solid 3D parts could be printed in minutes and last significantly longer once RAD techniques are applied. The process can be reduced to a portable handheld applicator, which makes it particularly useful in military field operations. The new research seeks to advance the scientific understanding of this process while developing enhanced tools and techniques that allow the production and repair of materials to be quick and cost-effective. 

“We are thrilled to see Dr. Agarwal recognized for his substantial collaborations to the U.S.  federal government, other leading research institutions and commercial entities,” said John L. Volakis, dean of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing. “His research is making contributions to significant initiatives of national interest.” 

The honor of being elected a fellow of AAAS began in 1874 and is acknowledged with a certificate and rosette. This is presented at AAAS’s annual fellows' forum in conjunction with its annual meeting.