The Applied Mechanics Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) recently announced that the Timoshenko Medal, the highest award in international mechanics, has been awarded to Gao Huajian, an alumnus of Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU).

Gao Huajian, an alumnus of Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), wins this year’s Timoshenko Medal, the highest award in international mechanics.

Gao was awarded the Timoshenko Medal for his pioneering contributions in the field of nanomechanics in engineering and biological systems. He is the third Chinese winner since the establishment of the award. Chia-Chiao Lin won the award in 1975 and Yuan-Cheng B. Fung won in 1991.

Gao studied at the Engineering Mechanics Department of XJTU from 1978 to 1982 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He is currently a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States, as well as a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften in Germany and the Academy of Europe, and a distinguished professor of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Due to his outstanding contributions in solid mechanics and other intersecting fields, he has successively won the Guggenheim Memorial Award, the Humboldt Prize, the First Special Achievement Award for Young Scholars in Applied Mechanics issued by ASME (one winner per year), the Rodney Hill Award issued by the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (held every four years, only one winner per session).

His other major academic awards include the William Prager Award, the highest award of the American Society of Engineering Sciences; the Nadai Medal, the highest award of the Materials Division of ASME; the Theodore von Karman Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers; and the Humboldt Research Award in Germany.

The Timoshenko Medal was established in 1957 and is conferred in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics every year. Instituted by the Applied Mechanics Division, ASME, it honors Stephen P. Timoshenko, a world-renowned authority in the field, and commemorates his contributions as author and teacher.