Bio
Jonathan Colton came to the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1985, after completing his S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He serves as director of the Institute-wide Center for Polymer Processing. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Industrial Design of the College of Architecture. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in design and manufacturing. He is principal researcher on projects sponsored by - among others - National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, NATO, Ford, General Motors, General Electric, Schlumberger, U.S. Navy, and Lockheed-Martin Corp. He has spent a year as a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London. Dr. Colton serves on the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Colton is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the Society of Plastics Engineers, has been a Woodruff Faculty Fellow, and has received the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the SAE Teetor Award, and the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. Dr. Colton received a NASA Space Act Award. He has received the outstanding paper award from the Rapid Prototyping Journal. In 2007, he was named the Jack M. Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Georgia.
Education
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986
S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1982
S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981
Fields
- Humanitarian Design and Engineering (HumDE)
- Manufacturing, Production, and Design: Polymer and polymer composites
- Biomedical and Medical Devices: Technologies for developing countries and other resource-limited environments.
Distinctions
- World Health Organization, Technology and Logistics Advisory Committee, 2008-2011
- The Global Soap Project, board of directors, 2011-present
- Amigos for Christ, Community Service Award, 2011
- Woodruff School Jack M. Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award, 2007
- National Aeronautical and Space Administration, Space Act Award, 2005
- Sigma Xi (Georgia Tech Chapter)
- Best Ph.D. Thesis Award (Advisor to Andrew McFarland), 2005
- Best M.S. Thesis Award (Advisor to Anne Palmer), 2000
- Society of Plastics Engineers
- Board of Directors (Medical Physics Division), 2006-2010
- Fellow, 2004
- Board of Directors (Composites Division), 2001-2009
- Emerald Literai Club Award, Highly Commended Paper, 2002 volume of Rapid Prototyping Journal, 2003
- MCB University Press Award, Most Outstanding Paper, 1999 volume of Rapid Prototyping Journal, 2000
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow, 1999
- Woodruff School Faculty Fellow, 1992 1997
- Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, 1992
- National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, 1989-1994
- Society of Manufacturing Engineers Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer, 1988
- American Society for Engineering Education New Engineering Educator, 1986
- National Bureau of Standards Certificate of Recognition for Sustained Superior Performance, 1979
- Registered Professional Engineer in Georgia
