Dr. Brake started at Rice University in 2016 after working at Sandia National Laboratories for nine years. Prior to Sandia, Dr. Brake completed his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. Dr. Brake has been elected to several leadership positions within the ASME, including as the secretary of the ASME Research Committee on the Mechanics of Jointed Structures, he has been a visiting academic at the University of Oxford, he has taught multiple classes at the University of New Mexico as an adjunct professor, and he has co-organized multiple international workshops and conferences. He recently received the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his work in fluid-structure interaction, founded and directed the Nonlinear Mechanics and Dynamics (NOMAD) Institute, and completed his first book – “The Mechanics of Jointed Structures,” to be published by Springer in 2017.
WEBSITE(S)| Mechadynamics Lab
Research Areas
Structural dynamics, contact mechanics, impact mechanics, fatigue, failure, tribology, numerical methods, uncertainty quantification.
Education
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2007
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2004
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2002
Societies & Organizations
ASME, Fellow (2019-present)
STLE Contact Mechanics Committee, Vice Paper Solicitation Chair (2018-present)
SEM Technical Division for Nonlinear Structures and Systems, Vice Chair (2017-present)
ASME Research Committee on Mechanics of Jointed Structures, Executive Director (2017-present)
Honors & Awards
Future Energy Leaders Program, CERAWeek, (2020)
Favorite Teacher Honor, Will Rice College, Rice University, (2019)
The 2018 C. D. Mote Jr., Early Career Award (2018)
The 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (awarded in 2014)