July 16, 2013

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and of Materials Receives Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award

Matthew Begley, professor of mechanical engineering and materials at UC Santa Barbara, has been chosen as one of three recipients for the 2013 Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award. The award is given for "an outstanding performance in applied research."

"I was absolutely delighted to hear that he has been elected the recipient of the Humboldt Foundation's Fraunhofer Bessel Research Award," Chancellor Henry T. Yang said, of Begley's award. "This is a wonderful and prestigious recognition of his research achievements, including his research in the areas of 3D printing and bio-inspired materials, multi-layered materials and adhesion, and dynamic microfluidics."

Begley joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2010, after a stint at the University of Virginia from 2001 to 2009. and at the University of Connecticut from 1997 to 2001.

However, Begley was not unfamiliar with campus, having received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the university in 1995, after which he went to Harvard as a postdoctoral fellow, from 1995 to 1997.

Begley has more than 100 archival publications, with an emphasis on computational mechanics and device physics. In addition, he has been the recipient of the National Science Foundation's Early Career Award. Because of his expertise, Begley has been invited to be a guest speaker at several high-level conferences on mechanical engineering and materials topics.

Since joining UCSB, Begley has expanded his research program into bio-inspired composite materials, with an emphasis on high performance materials for energy-dispersive systems and multifunctional layered coatings. In 2010, he co-led the UCSB team that won the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advance Research Project Agency's Digital Manufacturing, Correlation and Estimation Challenge (DARPA DMACE).

The Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award, valued at almost $58,000, is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research. It is given to scholars from non-European countries who have completed their doctorates less than 12 years prior to the date of nomination, and who are internationally recognized for their achievements in the field of applied research. Winners of the award are "expected to continue producing cutting-edge results which will have a seminal influence on their discipline beyond their immediate field of work," and are invited to spend up to a year in Germany, collaborating on a research project of their choice with colleagues at one of the Fraunhofer Institutes.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.