Huajian Gao facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Huajian Gao
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| 高华健 | |
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| Born | December 7, 1963 |
| Citizenship | U.S. |
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| Known for | Micro- and nanomechanics of thin films, hierarchically structured materials, and cell-nanomaterials interactions. |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Solid Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science |
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Huajian Gao (born December 7, 1963) is a famous Chinese-American scientist. He is known for his work in a field called solid mechanics. This field studies how solid objects behave when forces are applied to them.
Professor Gao is especially known for his research on very tiny things. This includes the mechanics of thin films (super thin layers of material) and nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are materials that are incredibly small, often just a few atoms wide. He also studies how cells interact with these tiny materials.
He is a professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He also used to be a professor at Brown University in the United States.
Early Life and Education
Huajian Gao was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, on December 7, 1963. He loved learning about how things work.
He earned his first degree in Engineering Mechanics in China in 1982. Later, he moved to the United States. He continued his studies at Harvard University. There, he earned his master's degree in 1984 and his Ph.D. in 1988. A Ph.D. is the highest university degree.
Career Highlights
After finishing his studies, Professor Gao started teaching. He taught at Stanford University from 1988 to 2002. He became a full professor there in 2000.
In 2001, he joined the Max Planck Society in Germany. He was a director at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research. This is a very important research center.
Later, in 2006, he moved to Brown University. He became a special professor of engineering there. In 2019, he joined Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He also works with the Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore.
Professor Gao is also the editor of a major science magazine. It is called the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. In 2024, he also joined Tsinghua University in China as a professor.
What He Studies
Professor Gao's research helps us understand how materials work. He studies many interesting topics, including:
- How very thin layers of materials behave.
- How natural materials, like bones or shells, get their strength.
- How tiny materials, called nanomaterials, work.
- How cells stick to surfaces.
- How cells interact with tiny man-made materials.
- How energy storage systems, like batteries, work at a tiny level.
His work helps scientists and engineers create new and better materials. These materials can be used in many things, from electronics to medicine.
Awards and Honors
Professor Gao has received many important awards for his work.
- In 1995, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. This is a special award for talented people.
- In 2012, he won the Rodney Hill Prize. This is a top award in solid mechanics.
- He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012. This means he is one of the best engineers in the U.S.
- He also became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015.
- In 2018, he joined the National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2021, he received the Timoshenko Medal. This award recognized his "pioneering contributions" to understanding how tiny things work in both engineering and living systems.
- In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.
