Michael Falk is a professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Physics at Johns Hopkins University. He also serves as the Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education within the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, a position he has held since July 2017. He holds degrees a bachelor’s degree in physics (1990) and a master’s degree in computer science (1991) from Johns Hopkins. He completed his Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and then launched his academic career as a computational materials scientist at the University of Michigan in 2000. In 2008 he returned to Johns Hopkins.
Prof. Falk’s research focuses on utilizing computer simulation on the atomic scale to understand what happens when materials are pushed out of equilibrium by processes such as bending, breaking, charging and undergoing frictional sliding. Since returning to Johns Hopkins his funded projects have expanded to include educational research on how engineering students best learn computing and two National Science Foundation funded partnership with the Baltimore City Schools to increase engagement of students, teachers and communities in STEM learning. Prof. Falk has also been a strong advocate for diversity, particularly creating a welcoming climate for LGBTQ people within our university and the engineering and physics professions.