Narasimha Boddeti, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, has been named a Dean’s Faculty Fellow in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.
The fellowship program established in 2025 through donor gifts, honors faculty members whose academic performance and research advance the college’s goals. Recipients receive multi-year funding to expand research programs, create new opportunities for students, and address emerging challenges within their fields.
Boddeti, who holds the title of Berry Family Assistant Professor, works across computational mechanics, additive manufacturing, soft robotics, architected materials, and composites. His team blends computational models with 3D-printing strategies to engineer materials designed for applications in aerospace, infrastructure, and biomedical systems.
“We are proud to recognize Dr. Boddeti for his outstanding contributions to research and education,” said Partha Pande, dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. “His work exemplifies the innovation, creativity, and commitment to excellence that define our college and position WSU as a leader in engineering research.”
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Boddeti earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2006. Following graduation, he worked in India as a CAD designer for Tata Technologies Ltd from 2006 to 2008, and later as a software engineer for Think3 Design Solutions India Ltd from 2008 to 2009. He moved to the United States for graduate studies, completing his PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014.
Before joining the WSU faculty in 2020, Boddeti served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Digital Manufacturing and Design Center at the Singapore University of Technology and Design from 2016 to 2019. In 2024, Boddeti received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
The five-year grant supports his research into soft architected materials that integrate liquids inside 3D-printed solids to mimic biological tissue behavior.
The fellowship selection places Boddeti alongside four other newly named faculty fellows across the college: Omar Al-Hassawi, Venera Arnaoudova, Jean-Sabin McEwen, and Arezoo Zare.