Professor Ricardo H.R. Castro is chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Lehigh University's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. He joined the faculty in fall 2022.

Castro was the Chancellor’s Leadership Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California-Davis. He led the Nanoceramics Thermochemistry Laboratory in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, focused on the fundamental understanding of nanomaterials and their behavior under processing and service in extreme environments, such as high temperatures, complex chemistries, and radiation.

Castro holds a B.Sc. in molecular sciences and a Ph.D. in metallurgical and materials engineering from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He has received several national and international awards, including the NSF CA-REER Award, DOE Early Career Program Award, the Young Investigator Award from the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), the Sosman Award by the Calorimetry Conference, the Robert L. Coble Award from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), among others.

He is a fellow of ACerS, Principal Editor for the Journal of Materials Research, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Ceramic Engineering and Science published by ACerS/Wiley. From 2018 to 2021, Castro served as the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the UCDavis College of Engineering. Castro's role was to stimulate the development, coordination, and overall advancement of the engineering graduate and research programs.

Ricardo H.R. Castro
Ricardo H.R. Castro
Professor and MSE Department Chair
ric222@lehigh.edu
Whitaker Lab 374
5 E. Packer Ave.
Bethlehem, PA 18015

Education

Ph.D., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of São Paulo, Brazil, Molecular Sciences, 2005
B.S., Molecular Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, Molecular Sciences, 2001

Areas of Research

Nanocrystalline Materials, Nanomechanics, Ceramics, Sintering, Thermodynamics, Nuclear Materials