de la mora Receives Fuchs Memorial Award

Juan Fernandez de la mora, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and one of the leading experts in aerosol science technology, has been awarded the Nikolai Albertovich Fuchs Memorial Award by the International Aerosol Research Assembly.

The Fuchs Memorial Award recognizes outstanding original research contributions to the field of aerosol science and technology and is considered the highest honor for researchers in the field. Presented every four years at the International Aerosol Conference, the award memorializes late Professor Nikolai Albertovich Fuchs, the great Russian scientist who is regarded by many as the “father of aerosol science.”

de la Mora was cited for “his contributions to the development of aerosol instruments with molecular resolution, and their applications.”

“I’m extremely honored to receive this award,” de la Mora said. “Knowing the merits of the probable contenders, I am humbled and thankful of my colleagues and supporters.”

de la Mora’s core field of research interest is fluid mechanics, with applications to nanoparticle separation by inertia, mobility and mass spectrometry. He has contributed to various nanoparticle separation, detection, ionization and atomization instruments, including DMAs, CNCs, impactors, and electrosprays. He was previously awarded the K. Whitby and the D. Sinclair Awards from the American Association of Aerosol Research and is a corresponding member of the Spanish Academy of Engineering.

“Juan has had a profound impact on the field of aerosol science for decades,” said Jeffrey Brock, dean of Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science. “To see him recognized with the highest honor in his field is not only satisfying, but deserved.”

Alessandro Gomez, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and longtime colleague, praised the unique background and knowledge de la Mora’s brings to his research.

"Juan is a scientist the old-fashioned way, a sort of ‘craftsman of science,’” Gomez said. “He is intimately involved in the ongoing research in his research group and, despite its small size, his contributions have had a disproportionate impact. At heart, he is a theorist, but he ‘dabbled’ in experimental work early on in his career. The powerful and, in some respects, unique combination of theory and experimental approach have magnified the impact of his work."