Maruf Billah, a PhD candidate working on the research team of Associate Professor Pinar Acar, has been awarded a Pratt Fellowship from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering in support of his ongoing studies.

Billah has research interests in the fields of multiscale materials modeling, inverse design of materials, structural optimization, and composite materials. To this end, he has authored papers presenting possibilities for new technologies in reliable microstructure design of aerospace materials, microstructure evolution under processes, and other areas. He was also part of a group that won an award for Best Paper at the AIAA Science and Technology Forum (AIAA SciTech 2025) for proposing novel functionally graded material concept for better structural performance.

Billah completed his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2018  and his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology in 2021.