Carnegie Mellon University
August 14, 2013

Press Release: Carnegie Mellon's Kaushik Dayal Earns Engineering Award for Excellence in Nanoscale Research

Contact: Chriss Swaney / 412-268-5776 / swaney@andrew.cmu.edu

Kaushik DayalPITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Kaushik Dayal has won the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) for groundbreaking research on the interactions between materials and electromagnetism that can be applied to new technologies for energy storage and generation.

"I'm delighted to receive this recognition of our research into the behavior of electromechanical and electrochemical materials at the nanoscale," said Dayal, an associate professor in the mechanics group of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CMU.

Dayal's research is on materials that could have major applications in large-scale energy harvesting. Intermittent power sources, such as solar power, may benefit from being able to store excess energy in large batteries where the sun shines in the daytime, and then use the stored energy at night when it is in demand.  Research in this field is aimed at creating smaller batteries with higher energy density and faster recharge times. His research is funded by the Army Research Office (ARO), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"This is great recognition for an innovative researcher who is making important contributions to modeling of materials critical to renewable energy systems and other technologies," said David A. Dzombak, head of CMU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. University Professor.

The EMI Leonardo Da Vinci Award, established in 2011, recognizes outstanding young investigators early in their careers for promising developments in the field of engineering mechanics and mechanical sciences with specific relevance to civil engineering.

Dayal's pioneering work has garnered many accolades. In 2012, he was honored with the Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Prize, the National Science Foundation Career Award and the Eshelby Mechanics Award for Young Faculty.

Dayal received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a minor in materials science in 2007 at the California Institute of Technology. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics.
                    
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Kaushik Dayal, pictured above, has won the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers Engineering Mechanics Institute for groundbreaking research on the interactions between materials and electromagnetism. His research can be applied to new technologies for energy storage and generation.