I was born in Smithtown, NY in June 1975, the first of my entire English family tree to be born in the USA. I am the 2nd oldest of four brothers. The other three are all way smarter than I am. In 1992 I left NY, as did the rest of my family - and I began my education in earnest.

I received both my B.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) at MIT, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. My Ph.D. advisor was Professor Subra Suresh, now the Dean of Engineering at MIT. The topic of my dissertation was the mechanical behavior of small volume structures, for thin film and patterned line applications. I also worked in nanoindentation experiments, and experimental atomic simulations using bubble rafts.

In Feb 2001, I looked for something new to research and found it in the Physiology Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. There, I worked as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow on lubrication between the lung and chest wall during breathing. It was during this time that my interest in macroscopic, physiologically relevant mechanics began to develop.

In June 2003 I joined the faculty of The State University of New York at Stony Brook, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. I had a joint appointment with the Center for Thermal Spray Research. I made the simple decision to join the faculty there while on a research trip to GE in Schenectady, NY. There, I worked on mechanics of heterogeneous, multilayered systems, with a special focus on Thermal Spray Coatings, and developed my current program in Lung Mechanics. Homesick for Boston and seeking new opportunities, I left Stony Brook in December 2007.

Most recently, I assumed the role of Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University. My current interests include Mechanics of Heterogeneous Systems, Industrially Relevant Fundamental Mechanics of Thermal Sprayed Coatings, Respiratory (Lung) Mechanics and of course, Indentation Across Size Scales and Disciplines, the topic of my 2005 NSF CAREER Award. I am also developing programs in mechanics and detection of child abuse, and educational outreach such as Bringing Education and Lifelong Learning to Adults (BELLA).

For over ten years, Ted J. Johnson has worked in multiple industries in order to perfect his business, leadership and relationship-building skills. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Hospitality Management from UMass-Amherst, and a Master’s of Education from Northeastern University. As the Program Manager of the Michael J. and Ann Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education, Ted utilizes his high energy and commitment to building student opportunities to bring new possibilities to the college’s entrepreneurial repertoire.

Noah Joseph has an Sc.B. In Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and enjoys the hands-on aspect of bringing ideas to realization. He has three years of experience teaching ideation and prototyping techniques to engineering students looking to become better makers as part of the Brown Design Workshop Mentoring program. He also has undergraduate teaching experience in Robotics for both high school and undergraduate engineering courses. His proudest achievement to date is his Computer Aided Design and manufacturing contribution to the EQUiSat CubeSat, Brown's first nanosatillite launched into low Earth orbit in late Spring 2018.

Mark Sivak has a PhD from Northeastern University in Interdisciplinary Engineering and serves on the faculty as a joint hire between the College of Engineering and the College of Arts, Media and Design. His research is in the areas of games for impact, rehabilitation robotics, consumer device design, additive manufacturing and experience design. He has written several book chapters on game design for the Well Played series of books as well as numerous journal and conference papers in his areas of research and has several patents in the area of health devices.