James Collins will join the faculty in December as a professor in BE and a core member of IMES. He received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Oxford. Jim is currently the William F. Warren Distinguished Professor, University Professor, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Center of Synthetic Biology at Boston University. He is a world leader in bringing together engineering principles and fundamental biology to make new discoveries and invent systems that can improve the human condition. Jim is among the founders of the field of Synthetic Biology.

Admir Masic joined the faculty as an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering in September 2015. He received an MSc in inorganic chemistry and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Torino, Italy. He was a post-doctoral associate at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, investigating the structural and mechanical properties of biological materials and received the Young Investigator Award from the German Research Foundation focusing on effects of water on the mechanical properties of collagen-based materials. During his PhD, Masic developed advanced characterization methodologies for the non-invasive study of deterioration pathways in ancient manuscripts, including quantifying the extent of collagen degradation in Dead Sea Scrolls. His research focus is on the development of novel, high-performance, in situ, and multi-scale characterization techniques that are able to overcome current research bottlenecks in the investigation of complex hierarchically organized materials. His work is geared towards investigating the structural and mechanical properties of biological materials, including the study of ageing and pathological processes. He is interested in the degradation and preservation of cultural artifacts, historical buildings, and civil infrastructure.