Zhigang Suo
School of Engineering and Applied Science Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138
Zhigang Suo is Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett Professor of Mechanics and Materials in
the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He earned a bachelor
degree from Xian Jiaotong University in 1985, majoring in Engineering Mechanics. Upon
earning a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University, in 1989, Suo joined
the faculty of the University of California at Santa Barbara, and established a group studying the
mechanics of small structures. The group moved to Princeton University in 1997, and to Harvard
University in 2003. His work centers on the mechanical behavior of materials and structures.
Basic processes include deformation, polarization, fracture, and transport of matter.
Applications are concerned with thin film structures in microelectronics, large-area electronics,
and active materials. Suo has coauthored over 200 archival papers. He co-founded
iMechanica.org, the web of mechanics and mechanicians. He served as a member of the
Executive Committee of the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME. Suo won the Pi Tau Sigma
Gold Medal and the Special Achievement Award for Young Investigators in Applied Mechanics
from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is a recipient of the Humboldt
Award. He is elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering.