Massimo Ruzzene

Massimo Ruzzene serves as the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation and Slade Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He joined CU Boulder in summer 2019 after previously holding the Pratt and Whitney Professor position in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Ruzzene received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) in 1999. His academic journey includes significant contributions to mechanical engineering research and leadership roles in academia.

Professor Ruzzene's research focuses on solid mechanics, structural dynamics, and wave propagation with applications to structural health monitoring, metamaterials, and vibration and noise control. His work explores periodic structures, phononic crystals, and metastructures for applications ranging from underwater vehicles to rotorcraft noise reduction. Recent work extends to studying wave motion in human bones and the skull/brain system for potential medical applications.

His publication portfolio demonstrates a strong emphasis on topological mechanics, elastic wave control, and metamaterials. The research trend shows increasing focus on topological phenomena in mechanical systems, non-reciprocal wave propagation, and expanding metamaterial concepts to structural applications. His work bridges fundamental mechanics with practical engineering solutions.

• Pratt & Whitney Professor of Aerospace Engineering
• Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME)
• Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Honorary Professor at Universidad Carlos III, Madrid Spain
• Chair of Excellence at Universidad Carlos III, Madrid Spain (2016-2017)
• The Lloyd Hamilton Donnell Applied Mechanics Reviews Paper Award (2016)
• Office of Naval Research Young Investigator (2002)

Dr. Ruzzene has secured extensive research funding as PI or co-PI from federal agencies including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, NASA, DARPA, and the National Science Foundation, as well as industry partners like Boeing, Eurocopter, Raytheon, and Corning. He previously served as program director for the Dynamics, Control and System Diagnostics Program at NSF (2014-2016). His Wave Lab at CU Boulder investigates active and passive vibration control strategies with applications to transportation safety and human health.