Skip to Main Content
Phil LeDuc

Phil LeDuc

Philip LeDuc, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been named a 2023 Fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is being recognized for his outstanding research contributions in “experimental cellular and molecular mechanics, biologically inspired engineered approaches, and global challenges both medical and nature inspired with integrated technology.”

This distinction is a lifetime honor achievement within the organization, which promotes the use of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to solve current issues. Members can nominate their peers to become Fellows, as long as those nominated have been members of AAAS for four years. The Council then elects as Fellows those nominees whose “efforts on behalf of science, or its applications, are scientifically or socially distinguished.” Fellows are inducted into an esteemed list of researchers and promoters of science in the public sphere, a list which dates back to 1874.

“I am honored to have been elected a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science as this is not only a very prestigious organization, but one that has been around since the 19th century with a goal to help the world become a better place,” said LeDuc.

LeDuc and his laboratory study the mechanics of nature at the cellular and molecular levels. They wish to discover what cells and machines have in common and if mechanical engineering principles apply across fields of study by investigating biological systems as if they were mechanical systems such as planes or automobiles.  

He has received several other awards for his research, including: the National Science Foundation CAREER award, George Tallman Ladd Research Award, Russell V. Trader Career Faculty Fellow, Benjamin Richard Teare Teaching Award, MARC Minority Faculty Mentor Award, and Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award. Along with the other recently elected Fellows, he will be recognized at the annual Fellows Forum this fall in Washington, D.C.