In September, 2006, professor of Mechanical Engineering Kazem Kazerounian was awarded the Mechanisms & Robotics Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Design Division. He received the award, presented once every two years for cumulative career contributions to the profession, in recognition of “cumulative contributions to the field of mechanisms design and theory.”

The Mechanisms & Robotics Award is the highest recognition available within the community and was presented during the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference held in Philadelphia, before a gathering of more than 1000 mechanical design scientists from around the globe. In receiving the award, Dr. Kazerounian became only the 18th recipient over the past four decades.

Dr. Kazerounian joined the Mechanical Engineering Department in 1984 after receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His expertise lies in analytical and computational kinematics and dynamics applied in diverse application fields, such as protein-based nano mechanical devices, optimization of mechanisms and gear systems, robotics, and human motion analysis. Dr. Kazerounian’s current active research projects include the analysis and design of protein molecules, and the study of their folding pathway as a basis for bio-nano machines; the dynamics and design of gear systems; the design and ergonomic aspects of health products; robotic manipulation; and creativity in engineering education.

Dr. Kazerounian has served on the editorial board of ASME Applied Mechanics Review and ASME Journal of Medical Devices and has been Associate Editor of both the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design and the Journal of Mechanisms and Machine Theory. He is a Fellow of ASME. In addition to the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Award, he received the George Wood award in recognition of “significant contributions to the field of mechanisms and robotics” and the ABB Outstanding Faculty Award, both in 1997.