Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
About Jamie Guest
Jamie Guest, a professor and the Hackerman Family Department Head of Civil and Systems Engineering, is an internationally recognized leader in the field of topology optimization. He holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and serves as the associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials (JAM2) and the Center for Integrated Structure-Materials Modeling and Simulation (CISMMS). He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI).
Guest’s research focuses on topology optimization, an approach for automating and enabling discovery in computational design processes. His group develops algorithms for the design of structures, devices, and architected materials for use in infrastructure, mechanical, biomedical, and aerospace applications. He has received several awards, including the Engineering Mechanics Institute Leonardo da Vinci Award and the American Society of Civil Engineers Walter L. Huber Research Prize. In 2025, Guest was named an inaugural Fellow of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization.
Sponsors of his research have included the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-e), the Army Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation, as well as industry.
Guest is currently serving as the past secretary-general for the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, and is a past chair of the technical committee on Optimal Structural Design for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute. He is also a member of the Computational Mechanics Committee of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) and a member of the Design Automation Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is on the editorial board of the journals Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization and Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering and a reviewer for more than 30 technical journals.
Guest received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering systems from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. He then studied at Princeton University, where he received a master’s degree in civil engineering and operations research in 2001, a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2002, and a PhD in civil and environmental engineering in 2005. He joined the Whiting School of Engineering faculty in 2005.
About the Position
The Hackerman Family Department Head was established in 2020 through the generosity of Nancy Hackerman and the Hackerman Foundation. The Hackerman Family Department Head in Civil and Systems Engineering serves the Whiting School’s mission in a powerful and visible way, recognizing the leadership of the department head.
Nancy Hackerman is a filmmaker and Baltimore philanthropist who comes from a long line of generational giving. Ms. Hackerman is the Managing General Partner of Hackerman Holdings LLC, President of Nancy Hackerman Productions (NHP Inc.), and a Director of the Hackerman Foundation.
The Hackerman Foundation was established in honor and memory of Willard Hackerman and Lillian Patz Hackerman. Mr. Hackerman was the CEO and longtime President of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Mr. and Mrs. Hackerman were generous supporters of many universities and hospitals throughout Maryland, as well as national institutions. They also established scholarship funds for local students. The Hackerman Foundation was established to continue their legacy of generous philanthropy.
About Jamie Guest
Jamie Guest, a professor and the Hackerman Family Department Head of Civil and Systems Engineering, is an internationally recognized leader in the field of topology optimization. He holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and serves as the associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials (JAM2) and the Center for Integrated Structure-Materials Modeling and Simulation (CISMMS). He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI).
Guest’s research focuses on topology optimization, an approach for automating and enabling discovery in computational design processes. His group develops algorithms for the design of structures, devices, and architected materials for use in infrastructure, mechanical, biomedical, and aerospace applications. He has received several awards, including the Engineering Mechanics Institute Leonardo da Vinci Award and the American Society of Civil Engineers Walter L. Huber Research Prize. In 2025, Guest was named an inaugural Fellow of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization.
Sponsors of his research have included the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-e), the Army Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation, as well as industry.
Guest is currently serving as the past secretary-general for the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, and is a past chair of the technical committee on Optimal Structural Design for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute. He is also a member of the Computational Mechanics Committee of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) and a member of the Design Automation Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is on the editorial board of the journals Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization and Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering and a reviewer for more than 30 technical journals.
Guest received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering systems from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. He then studied at Princeton University, where he received a master’s degree in civil engineering and operations research in 2001, a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2002, and a PhD in civil and environmental engineering in 2005. He joined the Whiting School of Engineering faculty in 2005.
About the Position
The Hackerman Family Department Head was established in 2020 through the generosity of Nancy Hackerman and the Hackerman Foundation. The Hackerman Family Department Head in Civil and Systems Engineering serves the Whiting School’s mission in a powerful and visible way, recognizing the leadership of the department head.
Nancy Hackerman is a filmmaker and Baltimore philanthropist who comes from a long line of generational giving. Ms. Hackerman is the Managing General Partner of Hackerman Holdings LLC, President of Nancy Hackerman Productions (NHP Inc.), and a Director of the Hackerman Foundation.
The Hackerman Foundation was established in honor and memory of Willard Hackerman and Lillian Patz Hackerman. Mr. Hackerman was the CEO and longtime President of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Mr. and Mrs. Hackerman were generous supporters of many universities and hospitals throughout Maryland, as well as national institutions. They also established scholarship funds for local students. The Hackerman Foundation was established to continue their legacy of generous philanthropy.
