James Guest, professor and head of the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering (CaSE), was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI). He and the 2024 Class of Fellows were formally recognized during a ceremony at the EMI 2024 Awards Banquet on May 30 in Chicago.
Guest is an internationally recognized leader in topology optimization—a mathematical approach to design that optimizes material layout within a given space. His research focuses primarily on topology optimization through the development of algorithms for the design of structures, devices, and architected materials for use in infrastructure, mechanical, biomedical, and aerospace applications.
EMI recognizes individual members with Fellow membership to honor distinguished records of research, service to the institute, and accomplishments. The institute promotes engineering mechanics research and the application of scientific and mathematical principles to engineering and societal issues. It is affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and was formerly the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Division.
Guest holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and also serves as the associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials (JAM2) and the Center for Integrated Structure-Materials Modeling and Simulation (CISMMS).He earned his PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Princeton University in 2005 and joined WSE as a faculty member that year.