Dinesh Katti, Jordan A. Engberg Presidential Professor and professor of civil engineering, has been selected to give the 59th Faculty Lectureship, one of NDSU’s oldest and most prestigious awards. The honor recognizes sustained professional excellence in teaching, scholarly achievement and service.
His lecture, “Materials Engineered Byte by Byte,” will be scheduled at a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Faculty Lectureship is a great opportunity to showcase the wonderful research and other activities at NDSU to the public,” Katti said. “Personally, I am honored by this recognition by my colleagues to be part of this eminent group of scholars who have preceded me. This lecture also will highlight the contributions of many students towards societally meaningful discoveries.”
Katti was nominated by David Steward, professor and department chair, and Michael Kessler, professor and dean of the College of Engineering. “Professor Dinesh Katti is a true leader who has demonstrated excellence in all three areas of teaching research and service. We can think of no one more qualified for the Faculty Lectureship Award,” they said.
Canan Bilen-Green, vice provost for faculty and equity, said, “The selection process for this award is rigorous. Dr. Katti can be proud that the Faculty Awards Committee selected him for this important award.”
Katti teaches geotechnical courses, such as soil mechanics and multi-scale modeling. He pioneered the use of computational multi-scale modeling and mechanics to explore nanocomposite materials to identify unique properties exhibited by nanocomposite materials. They include biological materials such as seashells, bone and cancer cells; geologic materials like swelling clays; and synthetic materials such as polymer clay nanocomposites.
He has made far-reaching contributions to his field. Katti has developed simulation tools to design materials with tailored properties, and he is a leading international expert in research examining the engineering behavior of swelling clays.
Katti has received numerous awards, including the John Booker Excellence Award by the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Patriot Award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, NDSU’s Fred Waldron Research Award and the College of Engineering and Architecture Researcher of the Year Award. He also is a fellow of the Engineering Mechanics Institute and the Faculty Institute for Excellence in Teaching.
Katti joined the NDSU faculty in 1996. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India; his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; and doctorate at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
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