Balachandran, Balakumar
Distinguished University Professor
Faculty Member, Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation
Affiliate Professor, Aerospace Engineering
Affiliate Member, Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland
Aerospace Engineering
EDUCATION
- Ph.D. (Engineering Mechanics), Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA, December 1990
- M.S. (Aerospace Engineering), VPI&SU, Blacksburg, VA, December 1986
- B. Tech (Naval Architecture), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, July 1985
BACKGROUND
Dr. Balachandran received his B. Tech (Naval Architecture) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, M.S. (Aerospace Engineering) from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA and Ph.D. (Engineering Mechanics) from Virginia Tech. Currently, he is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, where has been since 1993.
His research interests include nonlinear phenomena, dynamics and vibrations, system identification, and control. His recent efforts have focused on the following: i) use of nonlinear phenomena for the benefit of a system, ii) data-driven nonlinear dynamics, iii) interplay between noise and nonlinearity, iv) systems with delays, v) evolution of disease dynamics, and vi) space based solutions to address climatic warming. The publications that he has authored/co-authored include over hundred journal publications, and books in the areas of applied mathematics, dynamics and vibrations, and nonlinear science. These books include a Wiley textbook entitled "Applied Nonlinear Dynamics: Analytical, Computational, and Experimental Methods" (1995, 2004), a Thomson/Cengage textbook entitled "Vibrations" (2004, 2009) and a third edition by Cambridge University Press (2019), and a co-edited Springer book entitled “Delay Differential Equations: Recent Advances and New Directions” (2009).
Dr. Balachandran holds four U.S. patents and one Japan patent, three related to fiber optic sensors and two related to atomic force microscopy. He serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Dynamics and Control, Acta Mechanica Sinica, and Journal of Vibration and Control, and is an Associate Editor of Nonlinear Theory and its Applications. He has been a Deputy Editor of the AIAA Journal and an Associate Editor of Meccanica. He served as an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics from 2005 to 2011, and the Technical Editor of this journal from January 2016 to December 2020. He served as the Contributing Editor of the International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics from 2014 to 2020.
He is a Fellow of ASME and AIAA, a Honorary Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a full member of ASA, a senior member of IEEE, and a member of SPIE and the International Society of Nonlinear Dynamics. He served as the Chair of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division (AMD) Technical Committee on Dynamics and Control of Structures and Systems from 2005 to 2007, and the Chair of the ASME Design Engineering Division Technical Committee on Multibody Systems and Nonlinear Dynamics from 2009 to 2011. He was a member of the ASME AMD Executive Committee and served as the Chair of AMD from 2018 to 2019. In the Department, he has served as the Leader of the Mechanics and Materials Division from 1999 to 2006, Director of Graduate Studies from July 2006 to July 2010, Associate Chair from July 2006 to August 2010, Acting Chair from September 2010 till May 2011, and Chair from May 2011 to December 2023.
HONORS AND AWARDS
- ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics Best Paper Award for 2025 paper entitled "Nonlinear Vibration Attenuation via Stochastic Response Modification," 2026
- ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics Editor's Choice recognition for 2026 paper entitled "Rotating Cantilever: Escape Dynamics for Different Noise Perturbations," 2026
- Plenary Talk, Dynamics, Vibrations, and Control Track, ASME IMECE 2025, Memphis, TN
- ASME Thomas K. Caughey Dynamics Medal, 2025
- Honorary Fellow, Royal Aeronautical Society, United Kingdom, 2024
- Keynote Lecture, ASME IDETC 2024, Washington, DC, 2024
- AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, 2023
- Distinguished University Professor, 2022-Present
- Fellow, Royal Aeronautical Society, United Kingdom, 2022
- ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Robert Scanlan Medal, 2022
- ASME Lyapunov Award Lecture, 2021
- Plenary Talk, ICVE'21, Shanghai, China, 2021
- Keynote Talk, 8th International Conference on Nonlinear Vibrations, Localization, and Energy Transfer, July 2021, Ascona, Switzerland
- Distinguished Seminar, Semi-sesquicentennial Celebration of Mechanical Engineering, IISc, Bangalore, India, 2021
- ASME Lyapunov Award, 2021
- Sectional Lecture, ICTAM 2020+1, Milan, Italy, 2021
- ASME J. P. Den Hartog Award, 2021
- Keynote Lecture, NODYCON2021, Rome, Italy, 2021
- Plenary Lecture, 2020 ASME IMECE, 2020
- Springer Acta Mechanica Sinica (AMS) 2019 Best Paper Award for 2017 AMS paper entitled `Motion Visualization and Estimation for Flapping Wing Systems" in the Fluid Mechanics category, 2019
- Keynote Lecture, DSTA 2019, Lodz, Poland, 2019
- Keynote Lecture, ASME IDETC 2019, Anaheim, CA, 2019
- Knowledge Leadership Forum Lecture, Sastra University, Thanjavur, India, 2019
- Keynote Lecture, International Conference on Nonlinear Solid Mechanics, Rome, Italy, 2019
- John Laufer Lecture, University of Southern California, 2019
- Keynote Lecture, DINAME 2019 - XVIII International Symposium on Dynamic Problems of Mechanics, Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2019
- Springer Ali H. Nayfeh First Prize for Nonlinear Dynamics paper entitled ``Neural Machine-Based Forecasting of Chaotic Dynamics," 2019
- Warren Lecture, University of Minnesota, 2018
- Keynote Lecture, IUTAM Symposium on Exploiting Nonlinear Dynamics for Engineering Systems, Novisad, Serbia, 2018
- Editorial Board, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2018-Present
- Chair, ASME Applied Mechanics Division, 2018-2019
- Best Paper Award, Gold, 6th International Symposium on Multibody Systems and Mechatronics, Santa Catrina, Brazil, 2017
- Keynote Lecture, CMM 2017 - 22nd International Conference on Computer Methods in Mechanics, Lublin, Poland, 2017
- ASME Melville Medal for ASME JVA Paper entitled ``State-Dependent Delay Influenced Drill-String Oscillations and Stability Analysis," 2016
- Keynote Lecture, ASME IDETC 2016, Charlotte, NC, 2016
- Editor, ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, 2016-2020
- Hind Rattan Award, India, 2015
- Keynote Lecture, 12th International Conference on Vibration Problems, Guwahati, India, 2015
- Plenary Talk, ASME IMECE 2015, Houston, TX, 2015
- Contributing Editor, International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 2014-2020
- Foreign Member, Applied Mechanics Commission, National Scientific Qualification Committee, ANVUR, Italy, 2013-2014
- Editorial Board, Acta Mechanica Sinica, 2013-Present
- Japan Patent No. 2009-063574, 2012
- Minta Martin Professorship, 2012-Present
- Editorial Board, International Journal of Dynamics and Control, 2012-2024
- Associate Editor, Nonlinear Theory and Applications, 2012-Present
- Associate Editor, Meccanica, Solids and Structures area, 2012-2014
- Plenary Talk, ASME IMECE 2012, Houston, TX 2012
- IEEE Senior Member, 2011
- AIAA Fellow, 2010
- Keynote Talk, ASME IMECE 2010, Vancouver, CA, 2010
- US Patents: 6,901,176 (2005); 7,224,465 (2007); 7,428,064 (2009); 7,856, 866 (2010)
- Keynote Lecture, Mini-Symposium on Computational Methods in Nonlinear Dynamics, ECCOMAS 2008, Venice, Italy, 2008
- Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, 2004-2011
- Deputy Editor, AIAA Journal, 2007-2015
- Associate Editor, AIAA Journal, 2003-2007
- ASME Fellow, 2003
- Purple Camshaft Teaching Award, Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society, 2003
- American Helicopter Society's Grover E. Bell Award, 2002 - Faculty member of group recognized for work on smart structures conducted by the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Research Center
- Invention of the Year Award, Physical Sciences Category, University of Maryland, 2002
- Keynote Lecture, Symposium on Nonlinear and Stochastic Systems and Their Numerics, Mathematics Research Institute, Oberwolfach, Germany, 2002
- Editorial Board, Journal of Vibration and Control, 2000-2014
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- Member of Executive Committee, Applied Mechanics Division, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2014-2019)
- Member, Committee of 100, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech (2015-Present)
- Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation (2013-2016)
- Member, Board of Advisors, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech (2015-2019)
- Reviewer, AIAA Journal; ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics; ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics; ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control; Journal of Acoustical Society of America; Journal of Sound and Vibration; Journal of Vibration and Control; Nonlinear Dynamics; Smart Material and Structures; Shock and Vibration; International Journal of Nonlinear Mechanics; International Journal of Solids and Structures; Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures; Chaos, Solitons, and Fractals; IEEE Transactions of Automatic Control, IEEE Control Systems; IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering; IEEE Journal of MEMS; Sensors and Actuators; Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering; Philosophical Transaction, European Journal of Mechanics; Physics Letters.
- Reviewed proposals for NRC (AFOSR Mechanics Program), ARO, NSF, DOD EPSCOR, and different foundations.