About
Before joining The University of Tulsa as the inaugural dean of the College of Engineering & Computer Science, Andreas A. Polycarpou was the James J. Cain Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, and also served for nine years as the department head of the J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and acting dean of dentistry. Before joining Texas A&M University, he was the W. Grafton and Lillian B. Wilkins Professor, and the associate department head for undergraduate programs, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Polycarpou’s research interests include tribology (which is the science of interacting surfaces in relative motion), micro/nanotribology, nanomechanics, microtribodynamics and advanced interface materials. Recent emphasis has been on sustainable water-based lubricants, advanced materials for nuclear and space applications and energy storage devices. Polycarpou is the author of more than 250 archival journal papers, numerous book chapters, volume proceedings and two dozen patents. He also co-founded a materials’ startup company in 2010.
Polycarpou has won numerous national and international awards, including the ASME Hersey Award, the ASME Church Medal (for pedagogical innovations) and was recently inducted as a senior member of the American Academy of Inventors.
Awards & Honors
- Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors, 2021
- Edwin F. Church Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019
- Mayo D. Hersey Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2018
- Fellow, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, 2013
- Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2008
- Walter D. Hodson Award, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, 2008
- Fulbright Scholar, The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, Cyprus, 2007
- Edmond E. Bisson Award, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, 2007
- CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2003
- Burt L. Newkirk Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2001
Education
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1994
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1992
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1990
Research Interests & Areas of Expertise
- Tribology
- Nanotribology
- Materials for extreme conditions
- Energy storage devices
- Nanomechanics
- Microtribodynamics
