About
Paris von Lockette
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Background
I lead the Electromagnetically Active Composites and Structures (eMACS) Lab. We study polymer composites filled with magnetic or electrically active particles, and how to control the way those particles are arranged so the material does what we want. Our work combines experiments, constitutive modeling, simulation and optimization.
I joined UMBC in 2023 after years on the faculty at Penn State, and earlier at Rowan University. Along the way I have advised master's and doctoral students at all three, and a growing number of undergraduates at UMBC.
My teaching includes the senior capstone design course, ENME 440, which I developed at UMBC. At Penn State I received the Engineering Alumni Society Outstanding Teaching Award in 2019.
Education
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering1999
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering1996
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
- B.S., Engineering Science1993
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas.
Path
- UMBC2023 to present
Professor, Mechanical Engineering.
- Penn State
Faculty in Mechanical Engineering through 2023, where the lab ran. Chaired the DEI committee in 2021–22.
- Rowan University
Faculty in Mechanical Engineering. First master's students graduated in 2004.
Honors
- ASME Fellow2019
American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- Outstanding Reviewer2021
Smart Materials and Structures.
- Outstanding Teaching Award2019
Penn State Engineering Alumni Society.
- Trailblazer Award2008
Rowan University Harley Flack Mentoring Program.
Service
From 2018 to 2024 I was Symposium Chair for the Mechanics of Materials symposium (Symposium 2) at the ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS), and I have been an elected member of its Technical Committee since 2017.
At UMBC I chair the search committee for a new non-tenure-track teaching faculty position in Mechanical Engineering, and I serve on the ABET committee and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. I review for Smart Materials and Structures, ASME and IEEE journals, and NSF and other funding agencies.
I also hold a patent on a free motion laparoscopic surgical system (U.S. 12,201,288, 2025) and have consulted for industry.
Beyond the lab
I grew up in Duncanville, Texas, down the street from the Duncanville Feed Store. My first job was at the Clark Road McDonald's, where I lasted a full year, longer than anyone else there, and was named crew person of the year. I studied engineering science at Trinity University, then earned my PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, mostly doing polymer physics and computational methods.
I started my faculty career at Rowan University, where I helped build the materials science to solid mechanics sequence in its young engineering program, then spent ten years at Penn State before coming to UMBC.
My wife, Niki, is extremely talented and has spoken at Federal Reserve Bank conferences three times, twice by invitation. Our daughter will always be about three years old in my eyes. My first love is barbecue, and you can derail any conversation with me by bringing it up. Since moving to Maryland, I've been developing an affinity for Old Bay.