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Harish Cherukuri named mechanical engineering chair at New Mexico University
Cherukuri will join the University of New Mexico in July after serving in leadership and faculty roles at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 06, May 2026
- 18:14 EDT
- 33
Harish Cherukuri / engineering.unm.edu
The University of New Mexico School of Engineering has appointed Harish Cherukuri as chair and William E. Baker endowed professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the university announced April 21.
Cherukuri will join the university in July from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he serves as professor and former chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science.
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“Dr. Cherukuri’s experience as a chair positions him well to lead faculty and student success initiatives,” said Donna Riley, Jim and Ellen King dean of Engineering and Computing. “His expertise in machine learning and advanced manufacturing will help expand the department’s research portfolio.”
Cherukuri’s research focuses on computational mechanics, plasticity theory, advanced manufacturing and the dynamic behavior of materials. His work has appeared in journals including the International Journal of Plasticity, the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, and the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing. He has advised more than 50 master’s and doctoral students during his academic career.
“Joining the department offers an exciting opportunity to learn from the people who make it run,” Cherukuri said. “I am looking forward to listening to the faculty, staff, and students to identify the strengths that will serve as our foundation.”
He added that he hopes to foster “a collaborative space where everyone feels empowered to do their best work” through transparency and servant leadership.
Cherukuri brings more than 15 years of administrative experience, including serving as chair of UNC Charlotte’s mechanical engineering department since 2019. He previously served as interim chair and director of graduate programs in the department.
He was a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Fellow to India in 2010-11 and has received multiple student-nominated teaching and mentoring awards, including the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award for excellence in graduate student mentoring.
Cherukuri earned a bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 1987, a master’s degree from Montana State University in 1989, and a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1995.
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