Congratulations to University of Utah mechanical engineering associate professor Brittany Coats who has been elevated to the grade of Fellow of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
ASME, which started in 1880, inspires “collaboration, knowledge sharing and skills development across all engineering disciplines throughout the world, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society.” Of the 90,000-plus members, more than 3,000 are named Fellows.
Coats earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah and a doctorate degree in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. She arrived at the U as an assistant professor in mechanical engineering in 2010 and was named associate professor in 2016. She is also the associate chair of the department.
In addition to ASME, she is also a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the Association of Women in Science and is associate editor of the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. She received the Teacher of the Year Award for the U’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Mortar Board Honors Society Professor Award, the Career & Professional Development Center Faculty Recognition Award at the U, and is a University of Utah Foundation Fellow.
Coats’ research is focused on understanding mechanisms of pediatric traumatic brain and eye injury in order to develop better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for children. Currently, her research efforts focus on capturing microstructural mechanics, and quantifying how changes with age affect the mechanical response of biological tissues to trauma and disease in children, adults, and elderly. She leads the Utah Head Trauma Lab at the U.
Coats joins other recent University of Utah ASME Fellows, associate professors Kam Leang, Bart Raeymaekers, and Shad Roundy.