Christian Franck wins Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Grant from ASME Applied Mechanics Division

Christian Franck, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering at Brown University, has received a Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Grant, a new divisional award presented by the Applied Mechanics Division (AMD) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

This new grant targets university faculty that are at the beginning of their academic careers engaged in research in theoretical and applied mechanics. Professor Franck was one of three recipients of the 2011 awards, along with Dennis Kochmann of CalTech and Xuanhe Zhao of Duke. 

“This is a well deserved award for Professor Franck,” said Dean Larry Larson, “and this grant reflects the potential impact of his research program. The mechanics program has been an area of historic strength at Brown and it is one that continues to remain vibrant with bright, young professors such as Professor Franck.”

Professor Franck specializes in biomechanics and new experimental mechanics techniques at the micro and nanoscale. He received his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia in 2003, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 2004 and 2008. His doctoral research was on the development of a quantitative three-dimensional experimental technique for applications in soft biomaterials and cellular traction investigations. Dr. Franck held a post-doctoral position at Harvard investigating brain and neural trauma before beginning his appointment at Brown in 2009.

The Robert M. and Mary Haythornthwaite Foundation has been a generous supporter of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division (AMD).  The Foundation supports scientific research, primarily research in the field of theoretical and applied mechanics. Robert Haythornthwaite was founder and first President of the American Academy of Mechanics.

Robert Haythornthwaite, who grew up in England, also had a Brown connection. In 1950, he was award a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship and spent a year studying at Brown. After obtaining his Ph.D. from London University in 1952, he returned to Brown in 1953 to join the Division of Engineering at Brown before moving on to positions at Michigan, Penn State, and Temple.