KINGSTON, R.I. – July 5, 2001 – The Society for Experimental Mechanics has honored Dr. Arun Shukla, the Simon Ostrach Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Rhode Island, with its M.M. Frocht Award as educator of the year in the field of experimental mechanics. The award is given annually for outstanding achievement as an educator and was presented during the Society’s 2001 annual conference in Portland, Oregon last month. Initiated in 1967, the award is named in honor of Dr. Max Mark Frocht, a distinguished and accomplished mechanical engineer and educator. A resident of Wakefield, Shukla has been a member of the URI faculty since 1981 and currently serves as chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Society for Experimental Mechanics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and he serves as associate editor of Lasers and Optics in Engineering and on the editorial board of Key Engineering Materials. Shukla’s research focuses on fracture mechanics and the dynamic behavior of materials. Using a camera that can shoot pictures at 200 million frames per second, he studies how materials like ceramics, metals, polymers and concrete break apart so they may be improved to withstand greater stresses. His research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Maryland. For Information: Todd McLeish 874-7892