Corina Sandu, Robert E. Hord, Jr. Professor in Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the 2023 medal of the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Ingénieurs des Techniques de l'Automobile (FISITA). The medal is awarded to an individual for distinguished achievements in automotive engineering. Since the first FISITA medal was awarded in 1970, only 44 individuals in the world received this prestigious award, including Sandu; she is also the first woman to receive the medal.

As director of the Terramechanics, Multibody and Vehicle Systems Laboratory, Sandu works in a broad range of fundamental and applied topics governing multibody and vehicle dynamics, and the performance of a vehicle in its environment. She is recognized for her expertise in multibody dynamics, including modeling of uncertainties in such systems and sensitivity analysis of multibody dynamic systems with contacts and friction. Sandu's research in off-road vehicle performance, tires and terrain modeling, and the interaction of vehicles to unprepared terrain is well recognized internationally. 

The FISITA medal was presented at the 2023 Technology of Mobility Conference & Exhibition during the FISITA World Congress, September 12-14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.