National Academy of Engineering honors Virginia Tech researchers
Virginia Tech researchers Michael Garvin and Pavlos Vlachos are among 81 of the nation’s outstanding young engineers invited by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to participate in the 12th annual Frontiers of Engineering symposium, being held Sept. 21-23 at Ford Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Mich.
Frontiers of Engineering attendees — engineers 30 to 45 years of age and representing academia, industry and government — were nominated and selected in recognition of their contributions to the advancement of engineering and their potential as future leaders in their fields.
Garvin joined Virginia Tech’s Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2005 after serving four years on the Columbia University faculty. Shortly before coming to Blacksburg, he was honored at the White House on June 13 as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is the highest national honor for researchers in the early stages of their careers.
Garvin is developing new methods to help municipal and higher-level officials better manage infrastructure investments. New approaches to investment strategies and procurement practices for large-scale infrastructure projects are important in the current climate of increased public expectations and decreased federal funding.
While at Columbia, Garvin received three major National Science Foundation grants, including a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award for his research in infrastructure management. He earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy.
Vlachos joined the Virginia Tech mechanical engineering faculty in 2003 after spending three years as a visiting assistant professor and research assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics at the university. He also is on the faculty of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
The goal of Vlachos’ research is to advance the understanding of cardiovascular flows in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. He is constructing experimental models of the cardiovascular system to discover how flow disturbances influence a variety of cardiovascular disease conditions. Earlier this year he received a CAREER grant for his research.
Vlachos completed his master’s degree and Ph.D. at Virginia Tech and his bachelor’s degree from the National University of Athens, Greece.
The College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is internationally recognized for its excellence in 14 engineering disciplines and computer science. The college's 5,500 undergraduates benefit from an innovative curriculum that provides a "hands-on, minds-on" approach to engineering education, complementing classroom instruction with two unique design-and-build facilities and a strong Cooperative Education Program. With more than 50 research centers and numerous laboratories, the college offers its 1,800 graduate students opportunities in advanced fields of study such as biomedical engineering, state-of-the-art microelectronics, and nanotechnology. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.
