{"id":55504,"date":"2026-05-12T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/?post_type=news&p=55504"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:52:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T19:52:48","slug":"jamie-guest-installed-as-the-hackerman-family-department-head-of-civil-and-systems-engineering","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/jamie-guest-installed-as-the-hackerman-family-department-head-of-civil-and-systems-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Guest installed as the Hackerman Family Department Head of Civil and Systems Engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Department head and professor of civil and systems engineering, Jamie Guest<\/a>, has been appointed as the inaugural Hackerman Family Department Head of Civil and Systems Engineering. Guest holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and serves as the associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials (JAM^2) and the Center for Integrated Structure-Materials Modeling and Simulation (CISMMS). <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guest\u00a0is an internationally recognized leader in the field of topology optimization, an approach that automates and enables discovery in computational design processes. His\u00a0research\u00a0group develops algorithms for designing structures, devices, and architected materials for a broad range of applications, including infrastructure, energy, biomedical, and aerospace applications. He and his group are credited with making fundamental advancements in design for manufacturability, design under uncertainty, and design for multifunctionality. \u202f\u202f<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guest\u00a0has received\u00a0a\u00a0number\u00a0of\u00a0awards, including the Engineering Mechanics Institute Leonardo Da Vinci Award and the American Society of Civil Engineers Walter L. Huber Research Prize. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers\u2019 Engineering Mechanics Institute and was recently named an inaugural Fellow of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary\u00a0Optimization. He has held leadership positions on several engineering society committees and currently serves on the editorial board of\u202f<\/span>Structural and Multidisciplinary\u00a0Optimization<\/span><\/i>\u202fand\u202f<\/span>Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering<\/span><\/i>.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He received his bachelor\u2019s degree in civil engineering systems from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. He then studied at Princeton University, where he received a master\u2019s degree in civil engineering and operations research, followed by a PhD in civil and environmental engineering in 2005. He joined the Whiting School of Engineering in 2005.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hackerman Family Department Head was established in 2020 through the generosity of Nancy Hackerman and The Hackerman Foundation. The Hackerman Family Department Head in Civil and Systems Engineering serves the Whiting School\u2019s mission in a powerful and visible way, recognizing the leadership of the department head.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hackerman, a filmmaker and Baltimore philanthropist, comes from a long line of generational giving. She is the Managing General Partner of Hackerman Holdings LLC, President of Nancy Hackerman Productions (NHP Inc.), and a Director of The Hackerman Foundation. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hackerman Foundation was\u00a0established\u00a0in honor and memory of Willard Hackerman and Lillian Patz Hackerman. Mr. Hackerman was the CEO and longtime President of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Mr. and Mrs. Hackerman were generous supporters of many universities and\u00a0hospitals throughout Maryland, as well as national institutions. They also\u00a0established\u00a0scholarship funds for local students. The Hackerman Foundation was\u00a0established\u00a0to continue their legacy of generous philanthropy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n