Alexandra Hughes Techet is an American mechanical and marine engineer whose work involves experimental and image-based studies of hydrodynamics. She is a professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology department of mechanical engineering.[1]

Education and career

Techet grew up as a sailor and diver in coastal North Carolina.[2]

She studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, graduating in 1995. She then studied oceanographic engineering through a joint graduate program between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, earning a master's degree in 1998 and completing her Ph.D. in 2001.[3]

Her research aims to address the long standing hydrodynamic problems that are being faced by the ocean science and engineering community and by the United States Navy[4]

After postdoctoral research at Princeton, she returned to MIT as Doherty Assistant Professor of Ocean Utilization in the department of ocean engineering.[3] In 2005 she became an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, as part of a broader merger of MIT's ocean engineering and mechanical engineering departments.[2] She was promoted to full professor in 2019.[5]

Techet is a director of the EHL which is known as Experimental hydrodynamics Laboratory at MIT.[6]

Contributions

Techet's research contributions include a study of the ability of archerfish to jump out of water in search of prey,[7][8] and high-speed video capture of sneezes.[9]

During the COVID-19 lockdown, she has also been active in providing home gardening advice to the MIT community through the MIT Office of Sustainability.[10]

Recognition

Techet was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2018.[11]

Alexandra was a recipient of the 2004 ONR Young Investigator Award.[12]

She was featured on a cover of Journal of Fluid Mechanic[13]

References

  1. ^ "Alexandra Techet, Professor", Faculty, MIT MechE, retrieved 2020-07-24
  2. ^ Techet, Alexandra, "Bio", retrieved 2020-07-24
  3. ^ "Curriculum vitae", MIT MechE, 2012, retrieved 2020-07-24
  4. ^ https://meche.mit.edu/sites/default/files/cv/ahtechet_CV_0.pdf
  5. ^ "Departmental News & Awards", MIT MechE, Summer 2019, retrieved 2020-07-24
  6. ^ https://mae.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf7696/files/Techet%2C%20announcement.pdf
  7. ^ Weisberger, Mindy (April 20, 2017), "Taking the Leap: Archerfish Snag More Prey with Amazing Jumps", LiveScience
  8. ^ Butterman, Eric (October 19, 2017), "Biomimicking the Archer Fish", American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  9. ^ American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 19, 2015), "The Complex Sneeze, Caught on Tape", Newswise
  10. ^ Morell, Nicole (July 15, 2020), "Building a more sustainable MIT — from home"
  11. ^ "List of all ASME Fellows", American Society of Mechanical Engineers, retrieved 2020-07-24
  12. ^ https://web.mit.edu/ahtechet/www/Home.html
  13. ^ https://web.mit.edu/ahtechet/www/Home.html