{"id":3557,"date":"2024-11-05T09:35:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/doctor-of-engineering\/faculty\/thao-vicky-nguyen\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T12:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:01:01","slug":"thao-vicky-nguyen","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/doctor-of-engineering\/faculty\/thao-vicky-nguyen\/","title":{"rendered":"Thao (Vicky) Nguyen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, professor of mechanical engineering, <\/span>is known for her research on the mechanics of soft engineering and biological materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her lab uses an integrated experimental and modeling approach to study adaptive materials that can exhibit dramatic changes in microstructure, mechanical properties, and macroscopic shape in response to an environmental stimulus. Her research focuses on the biomechanics of fibrous soft tissues, constitutive modeling of shape memory polymers and polymer composites, and the fracture and failure of rate-dependent materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nguyen\u2019s work has contributed to the development of <\/span>innovative experimental tools and models to investigate the fundamental microscale mechanisms and microstructural origins of the behavior of soft adaptive materials.<\/span> Her research has provided design tools and guidelines for the creation of shape-shifting biomedical devices, including materials that expand in the body to secure tendons to bone and \u201csmart\u201d medical devices that function without wires or batteries.<\/span><\/p>\n

She<\/span> also is an expert on the complex mechanics of the eye. Nguyen has worked collaboratively to investigate the role of the sclera and cornea in the development of glaucoma, and to develop a biomechanical model of the sclera and its effects on glaucoma. Her research on the eye has been funded by the <\/span>Department of Defense, National Eye Institute, BrightFocus Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nguyen\u2019s awards include a 2025 James R. Rice Medal by the Society of Engineering Science, an NSF CAREER Award, a Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award. From the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, she earned the Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigator Award, the Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award, and the Materials Division Centennial Mid-Career Award. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Engineering Science and has chaired multiple committees for ASME. She is also a member of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and the International Society of Eye Research. She is an associate editor for two ASME journals: <\/span>Applied Mechanics Review <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>J. Biomechanical Engineering<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

She received her bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998, and MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University in 2000 and 2004, respectively. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins in 2007, Nguyen worked for three years as a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-3557","people","type-people","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThao (Vicky) Nguyen - Doctor of Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/faculty\/thao-vicky-nguyen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thao (Vicky) Nguyen - Doctor of Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, professor of mechanical engineering, is known for her research on the mechanics of soft engineering and biological materials. 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