Outstanding Faculty 

The work of Elliot Hawkes, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, sits at the intersection of design, mechanics, and materials. His group develops innovative design concepts and applies non-traditional materials to solve challenging problems in robotics, medicine, and biomechanics. The group soared into the global spotlight last year by creating a device capable of jumping 32.9 meters, three times the previous record for a jumping robot. The Hawkes lab also develops soft robots that grow from the tip, similar to vines and fungi, for use in the medical and search and rescue fields. 

Hawkes, who teaches an undergraduate course on mechanical design, says that he is honored and excited to be chosen by the graduating class as the Mechanical Engineering Department’s Faculty of the Year recipient.

“This means so much to me, having spent so much time working with students in this class,” said Hawkes. “Some began researching in my lab as early as their freshman year, and weathered COVID together, trying to figure out how to keep research moving forward, and many more have joined in the last couple of years. And it seems like just yesterday that we were all in ME153 together, with all of the creative and impressive projects tackling problems from all aspects of life. And I had a blast teaching Soft Robotics to a small group of this class just last quarter. I want to say congrats to the whole class, and best of luck with whatever comes next!”

Hawkes previously won the award in 2019. Additional honors received by Hawkes include an Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and inclusion in the Top 100 Technologies of the Year by Discover magazine, and Top Ten Robotics Technologies of the Year for 2018 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.