Faculty Promotions
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Professor Domitilla Del Vecchio and Professor Evelyn Wang, each from the rank of Assistant Professor to the rank of Associate Professor without Tenure, as well as the promotion of Professor Sang-Gook Kim from Associate Professor with Tenure to Full Professor. Each brings a unique signature to the Department and the Institute in terms of their individual achievements and contributions to research, education, mentorship, and service.
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Domitilla Del Vecchio, Associate Professor Domitilla Del Vecchio received her PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 2005 and, before joining MIT, worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Professor Del Vecchio’s research focuses on control of nonlinear systems and has two main thrusts: one in control of multi-vehicle systems and one in modular control versus retroactivity of the bio-molecular networks of genes and proteins in living cells. She has demonstrated expertise in multidisciplinary dynamical system modeling, the ability to realize her research results in physical form, the ability to synthesize new methodologies, and the ability to work productively across broad multi-disciplinary areas. Professor Del Vecchio was awarded an NSF Career Award in 2007 and received the prestigious Donald P. Eckman Award from the American Automatic Control Council in 2010. |
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Evelyn Wang, Associate Professor Evelyn Wang received her SB from MIT, and her MS and PhD from Stanford University. She is an emerging leader in the areas of micro and nanoscale heat and mass transfer processes, with a focus on the development of novel engineered structures that enable innovative solutions in thermal management, energy, and desalination systems. Her work is distinguished by a unique combination of state-of-the art micro/ nano-fabrication, physical modeling, and quantitative analysis that enables insight into the underlying physics, as well as an understanding of the engineering performance of complex interfacial engineering applications. Professor Wang has been recognized with a DARPA Young Faculty Award, a best paper award at ITherm 2010, and an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award in 2011. |
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Sang-Gook Kim, Full Professor Sang-Gook Kim joined the MIT faculty in 2000. He earned a BS from Seoul National University in Korea, an SM from KAIST in Korea, and a PhD from MIT. He is considered an innovator and leader in multiscale systems design and manufacturing. His contributions to the fields of energy harvesting and PZT processing for small-scale devices include breakthrough “firsts” as well as designs and processes that enable the wide-scale and practical implementation of these technologies. Professor Kim’s piezoelectric-coated cantilevered beam energy harvester is considered a milestone as the first functional MEMS harvester that uses the resonant vibrational mode of the beam to harvest energy from the environment. He has recently trumped this development with a broadband energy harvester that capitalizes on the nonlinear stiffness of doubly anchored beams. He is also recognized for his innovation in PZT processing, specifically aimed at integrating thin film PZT films with MEMS fabrication. Professor Kim has been both a leader and an innovator in our undergraduate curriculum as well. He oversaw the highly successful accredited flexible engineering degree within Mechanical Engineering (Course 2-A, now the sixth largest major at MIT) during a critical stage of its growth. He also led the development and implementation of a new undergraduate laboratory-based course on micro/ nanoengineering that has been enthusiastically received by the students and the faculty, rapidly expanding in enrollment from six students to more than 50 in just three years. |
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