David Littlefield, Ph.D., has been named the new chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Engineering.Littlefield, an expert in advanced computer weapons research, joined UAB in 2005.
Littlefield is also the on-site technical lead for computational structural mechanics at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Miss., sponsored by the Department of Defense. His primary technical interests include computational solid mechanics and computational magnetohydrodynamics. Littlefield has written or co-written more than 120 papers and technical reports in these areas.
Before joining UAB, Littlefield worked in Texas with the Southwest Research Institute and the Institute for Advanced Technology. He has been associated with the UAB Department of Mechanical Engineering since its inception in 2002, as a longtime research associate and eventual recruit of the first chair, Bharat Soni, Ph.D.
“David has been a vital part of this department through its impressive growth in recent years,” said Iwan Alexander, dean of the School of the Engineering. “He understands and is committed to our vision for the future.”
Littlefield is a member of several distinguished professional organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where he was named a fellow in 2002. He also holds a U.S. Department of Defense secret-level security clearance.
“I am honored to have been selected to lead the faculty of this department,” Littlefield said. “It’s a big responsibility, and I want to live up to those expectations. I look forward to building on the legacy that’s been started here.”