The Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowships at Purdue Engineering are awarded in memory of Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Professor at Purdue from 1935 to 1948. A world-renowned pioneer in the application of psychology to industrial engineering, Dr. Gilbreth’s work epitomized interdisciplinary research and broader impact on industry and society. The goal of the Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at Purdue Engineering is to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development. 

The Gilbreth Fellowships, first awarded in 2018, recognize outstanding scholarly achievements and help recipients pursue innovative, interdisciplinary research with potential for broad impact on industry and society. 

This year, the fellows' research interests include understanding and modeling microscale flow physics; adhesives, self-healing materials, and stimuli-responsive materials; and distributed control and optimization of multi-agent systems. 

“The 2020 Gilbreth Fellows epitomize the excellence that Purdue Engineering strives for as we honor Lillian Gilbreth and follow her example of pioneering interdisciplinary research,” said Mark Lundstrom, Acting Dean of Purdue Engineering and the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Fellowship Awardees 2020

Evgeniy Boyko

Evgeniy Boyko is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Evgeniy will be working with co-advisors, Dr. Osman Basaran, Burton and Kathryn Gedge Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Dr. Ivan Christov, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, to explore fundamental fluid mechanical problems involving non-Newtonian fluids at the microscale. His research focuses on understanding and modeling microscale flow physics in the field of fluid-structure interaction and its coupling with electrokinetics.

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Aishwarya V. Menon

Aishwarya Menon completed her PhD in an interdisciplinary program within the Centre of Nanoscience and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Aishwarya will be working with co-advisors, Dr. Julie Liu, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Dr. Jonathan Wilker, Professor of Chemistry, to develop a series of adhesives that will connect tissues surrounded by blood, and creating surgical adhesives and sealants for bonding soft, as well as hard, tissues. Her research interests lie in the field of polymer materials with various applications including adhesives, self-healing materials, and stimuli-responsive materials.

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Yijing Xie

Yijing Xie will receive her PhD in Automation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Yijing will be working with co-advisors, Dr. Shaoshuai Mou, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Dr. Shreyas Sundaram, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, to design distributed resilient algorithms for multi-agent systems with various constraints. Her research interest lies in distributed control and optimization of multi-agent systems and event-triggered control of systems with various constraints.

Gilbreth’s Innovations

Gilbreth, a professor in Purdue’s School of Engineering from 1935 to 1948, is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in applying psychology to industrial engineering and interdisciplinary research. She was an adviser to five U.S. presidents on committees dealing with civil defense, war production, and rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

In addition, as a mother of 12 children, Gilbreth used her professional savvy to maximize efficiency in home management. Among her inventions are shelves inside refrigerator doors and the foot-pedal trashcan. Her family’s story is told in the book and movie Cheaper by the Dozen.

Gilbreth Fellows are appointed for a two-year term, and receive an annual stipend of $60,000 and benefits. They also receive a $5,000 grant professional development, such as attending conferences or workshops, and are mentored for their future academic careers through a variety of programs.