• Associate Professor
  • Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Career Development Professor I
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Richard Malak

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005.
  • M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2000.
  • B.E., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stony Brook University, 1998.

Research Interests

  • My research interest is to discover new principles, methods and tools for systems modeling and decision making. Advances in these areas can have a broad impact on society by helping systems designers to find better solutions to their problems (enhanced performance, higher efficiency, lower environmental impact, etc.). In essence, I aim to bring about better-engineered systems through improved systems design methodology.

    My focus is on quantitative methods for evaluating alternatives in the early phases of systems design. Furthermore, I seek to demonstrate that these improved methods can lead to improved system performance and energy efficiency.

    Areas of interest include predictive modeling, multi-attribute decision making, data-driven design evaluation and synthesis, model validation, set-based design, decision making under uncertainty, cyber-physical systems, and computational thinking applied to design processes. Applications of interest include most complex systems. Recent examples include hybrid vehicles, fluid power systems, and green buildings.

Awards & Honors

  • Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Young Faculty Fellow Award, 2014
  • Lockheed Martin Teaching Excellence Award, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2014
  • Morris E. Foster Faculty Fellow I in Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2014
  • Engineering Genesis Award for Multidisciplinary Research, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University. Given in recognition of success in leading large-scale multidisciplinary research projects at Texas A&M, 2014
  • Peggy L. and Charles L. Brittan ’65 Teaching Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2013

Selected Publications

  • Arroyave, R., Gibbons, S., *Galvan, E., and Malak, R.J. (2016) “The Inverse Phase Stability Problem as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem: Application to Materials Design” JOM, The Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. 68(5) 1385–1395. doi:10.1007/s11837-016-1858-5.
  • Peraza-Hernandez, E., Hartl, D., Malak, R.J., Gonen, O., Akleman, E., and Kung, H-W. (2016) “Design Tools for Patterned Self-Folding Reconfigurable Structures Based on Programmable Active Laminates” ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics. 8(3) 031015
  • *Hsiao, C., **Ruffino, M., Malak, R.J., Tumer, I.Y. and Doolen, T.L., (2016) “Discovering Taxonomic Structure in Design Archive Information to Categorize Risk-Mitigating Actions in a Large Engineering Organization,” Journal of Engineering Design. 27(1-3). DOI: 10.1080/09544828.2015.1126813.
  • *Halbert, T., Peraza-Hernandez, E., Hartl, D., and Malak, R.J. (2016) “Numerically Validated Reduced-Order Model for Laminates Containing Shape Memory Alloy Wire Meshes” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures. 27(11). DOI 10.1177/1045389X15595295.
  • Hartl, D., *Galvan, E., Malak, R. and Baur, J. (2016) “Parameterized Design Optimization of a Magnetohydrodynamic Liquid Metal Active Cooling Concept” ASME Journal of Mechanical Design. 138(3) 031402-031402-11. DOI: 10.1115/1.4032268. [Selected by journal editors as a featured article for journal website.]
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