Florida International University’s (FIU) School of Biomedical, Materials and Mechanical Engineering (BMME), housed under the College of Engineering & Computing (CEC), welcomes its new director.
Dean John Volakis has announced the appointment of Arvind Agarwal as director of the School of BMME, effective October 15, 2022.
Agarwal is a distinguished university professor, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering since 2017, and the director of the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute (AMERI) since 2012. He joined FIU in 2002 and served as CEC’s Associate Dean of Research from 2015-2017.
“Prof. Agarwal brings forward his outstanding experience in research and academics,” John L. Volakis, dean, FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing. “He is very well prepared to lead the school’s multi-disciplinary research endeavors across emerging and frontier areas, and to foster innovative partnerships.”
“I’m truly honored by my appointment to lead the School of BMME,” Agarwal said. “It’s such an amazing time to embark on an exciting path to explore and lead interdisciplinary programs with our faculty, researchers, and students.”
Agarwal has nearly 23 years of teaching, research and administrative experience in academia and industry. He has been conducting interdisciplinary research in advanced materials, plasma spraying, and carbon nanotube composites, biomechanics, bioengineering, nanotechnology and graphene foam reinforced advanced materials for deicing. Serving as a principal investigator (PI), Agarwal has led externally funded research activities exceeding $13 million since 2017. He has nearly 300 technical publications and has advised nearly 40 graduate students. He recently received $22.9 million from U.S. Army to advance research on high-performance additive manufacturing technologies. Notably, a sample of innovative coating material, developed at the Plasma Forming Laboratory under his leadership will be heading to the International Space Station. He is also part of the multi-institutional team that developed a miniature heart to speed-up heart disease cures.
Agarwal obtained his B.S. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He worked in industry as a materials scientist at Plasma Processes Inc. for three years prior to joining FIU in 2002. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society for Ceramics, American Society for Metals (ASM) International, and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).