Zikry Appointed to Smith Professorship

Dr. Mohammed A. Zikry has been appointed the inaugural Zan Prevost Smith Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering.

A faculty member since 1990, Zikry is a leading expert in the multiscale computational modeling of systems, fracture mechanics, crystalline plasticity, functional nano and micro device design, dynamic material behavior and experimental mechanics.

Zikry was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2004 and chairs  its materials division executive committee. He received a senior Fulbright research award in 2005 and was named a Jefferson Science Fellow by the U.S. State Department in 2008. He serves as regional editor for the Journal of Mechanics of Materials and as a key reader on the editorial board for Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. His honors include the Alcoa Senior Research Award, the Ralph Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineering and the DuPont Young Faculty Development Award.

The professorship was established in 2005 by Carl M. Smith to benefit mechanical engineering and to honor his son, Zan Prevost Smith, who earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from NC State.