Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement
L.D. Timmie Topoleski, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Since arriving at UMBC in 1990, Topoleski has been a dedicated member of the mechanical engineering faculty, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and encouraging excellence in his lab and beyond. He has served as president of the Faculty Senate and won numerous awards for his service and teaching, including being named UMBC Presidential Teaching Professor, a fellow with the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering, UMBC Honors College Faculty of the Year, among others. His research focuses on understanding fundamental mechanisms of material behavior, and using that understanding to create new materials to solve problems based on materials performance and longevity. His research is focused on biomaterials: both materials that are manufactured to be implanted in the human body and understanding human tissues as materials. The current studies in his lab concentrate on surface modifications to biomaterials to prevent wear and corrosion; micro- and nano-structural modifications to increase fatigue and fracture resistance; understanding the structure/function changes in human arteries that occur as a result of aging or disease; and responses to interventions used to treat heart disease.