Each semester, Pi Tau Sigma, the National Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, recognizes one outstanding instructor by voting him or her Professor of the Term. ME Professor Michael Thouless was awarded this honor for the fall 2009 semester. The award acknowledges professors who exemplify excellence in mechanical engineering teaching and who go beyond what is expected of them for the benefit of their students.
In addition to his ME professorship, Thouless is chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs. His research interests include micromechanics modeling of materials, interfacial fracture mechanics and adhesion, mechanical properties of thin films and coatings, toughening mechanisms in polymers, and mechanical properties of structural adhesives.
