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Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Phone: 443-287-9960 | Fax: 443-287-9920

November 6, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Diana Schulin
410-579-4737
dschulin@jhu.edu


Ramesh to Chair Mechanical Engineering for
Part-time Programs

Kaliat T. Ramesh, a professor of mechanical engineering in The Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering, has been appointed the new program chair for mechanical engineering in the university's Engineering Programs for Professionals. Ramesh resides in Ellicott City, Md.

Ramesh has been an instructor in the Engineering Programs for Professionals' mechanical engineering program and taught the first online course — Tribology — offered by EPP. As the new chair, Ramesh will oversee course development, course scheduling, instructor hiring, student admissions review and decisions, student advising and overall student satisfaction.

"Overall, mechanical engineering is the largest engineering discipline, and it is the one leading the rapid change in engineering, especially with respect to nanotechnology and health care," he says. "Most of our students in the program come from industry, and some from government agencies. I want to draw in those students who want professional advancement, exposure to the cutting edge in this field and a fresh way of thinking." To accomplish this, Ramesh is considering instituting a seminar program that brings in both scientific and professional leaders.

A native of Bangalore, India, Ramesh completed undergraduate studies in India before enrolling at Brown University, where he earned master's degrees in solid mechanics and applied mechanics and a Ph.D. in solid mechanics. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins in 1988, Ramesh was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego. He became a full professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1997 and chaired the department from 1999 to 2002. He spent a sabbatical as a visiting professor in the departments of Engineering and Physics at the University of Cambridge in England during the 2002-2003 school year.

At Johns Hopkins' Homewood campus, Ramesh directs the Center for Advanced Metallic and Ceramic Systems, which investigates fundamental mechanics and materials issues associated with impact problems. Ramesh's research focuses on nanomaterials; dynamic failure processes; impact problems in biology, such as traumatic brain injury, blasts and IEDs; and planetary impact, or the mechanics of an asteroid colliding with another asteroid or a planet.

Ramesh received the M. Hetenyi Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics in 2006 and the Johns Hopkins University William H. Huggins Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995. He won the Best Paper Award from the ASME Tribology Division in 1987, and was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2001. He is an honorary member of Pi Tau Sigma, the international mechanical engineering honor society, and a member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society. He is also a member of the American Academy of Mechanics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Engineering Science, TMS (formerly The Metallurgical Society), the Materials Research Society, the American Ceramics Society, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the American Physical Society. Ramesh is also an amateur astronomer and a member of the Howard Astronomical League of Howard County, Md.

Photo of K.T. Ramesh available; contact Diana Schulin.

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Part of The Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering, the Engineering and Applied Science Programs for Professionals offer masters degrees in 14 distinct disciplines. There are currently more than 2,200 students enrolled in EPP programs at seven education centers throughout the Baltimore/Washington area and online. For more information on EPP programs and functions, contact Associate Dean Allan Bjerkaas at 410-540-2960, visit the Web site at www.epp.jhu.edu , or e-mail epp@jhu.edu.