Professor Vikas Tomar was the recipient of the 2017 C.T. Sun School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Excellence in Research Award. The honor is presented annually to an individual or a team of faculty members in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics to recognize high quality contributions in science and engineering.

Tomar is a member of AAE’s Structures and Materials group. His research has led to a new paradigm in material testing through the development of a new Purdue patented analytical technique called Nanomechanical Raman spectroscopy (NRS). Tomar’s work has been recognized by a number of awards. These include the AFoSR young investigator award for high temperature interface thermomechanics; American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Orr early career award for excellence in fracture and fatigue; The Mineral, Metal, and Materials Societies (TMS) early career faculty fellow-honorable mention award for materials research; and inaugural Elsevier Material Science and Engineering journals’ early career young researcher award for interface mechanics. Tomar was elected an associate fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics (AIAA) in 2015 and a fellow of ASME in 2016.

photo (l to r): Prof. Vikas Tomar accepts C.T. Sun Award from Dr. Tom Shih, the J. William Uhrig and Anastasia Vournas Head and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics