Diego Turo, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Catholic University of America. He is an associate professor, researcher, and athlete, as well as a highly regarded member of the School of Engineering community.
Turo is an avid athlete, who regularly competes in triathlons across the country. Recently, he competed at the 2024 USA Triathlon Sprint Distance National Championships in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the 2024 Giant Acorn Olympic Distance Triathlon Festival in Virginia.
Turo said, “Racing for me is a way to prove to myself that I can improve my athletic ability and compete; where each time, I do it better and better. This is what I do as an engineer too. I solve problems, but always consider if there is a better solution; especially, one that I may not initially see, but that will eventually appear if I keep working on it. That’s really what all engineers do to progress our society. Sports, similar to engineering, aim for continuous improvement—it is in its nature.”
Many students find Turo to not only be a role model academically, but also in athletics; considering over 25% of our undergraduate engineering students compete in a Division III athletic program at the University. Athletics is a key component of many of our students’ lives and having a professor who understands the importance of sports and physical well-being is very impactful in their educational journey. Students feel they can relate with Turo and engage in productive and meaningful conversations on a variety of topics.
Turo said, “Training for multiple sports—swimming, biking, and running—makes me feel better and energized, but also helps me to be rigorous and manage my time more efficiently. When I impose my training rigor on my daily work, I always end up with a more productive day. This is something I have noticed in my students as well. Since student athletes are so busy with their sports schedule, they become very good at managing their time effectively, and that helps them to study regularly and perform well on the tests.”
Turo’s approach to teaching and mentoring students is a great example of the deep connections that are built between our faculty and students, that help to promote an engaging and proactive academic community. Moreover, the standards he sets motivate students to become the best version of themselves.
Turo has been at Catholic University for over a decade, beginning his career as an adjunct faculty member in 2012. His expertise lies in acoustics and vibrations, more specifically, atmospheric and computational acoustics, and acoustics of porous media. He has written and co-authored numerous academic articles, in journals such as, Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Applied Acoustics, ACTA Acustica united with Acustica, Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Ultrasonic Imaging, Physical Review B and Physical Review Applied, accumulating over eight hundred citations over his career. He received his Ph.D. in Acoustics from the University of Salford (United Kingdom) in 2011 and his Laurea (M.Sc., 5-year degree) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy) in 2006.
In addition to his research, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on acoustics, system dynamics, aerodynamics, and vibrations. Turo is the director of the Aerospace Engineering concentration offered to the undergraduate students in mechanical engineering. He also serves as the faculty advisor for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics student chapter at Catholic University. In 2018, he won Catholic University’s Provost Teaching Award for “Advancement of Teaching.” In 2021 and 2024, he won Catholic University’s Charles H. Kaman Award for Teaching Excellence and in 2023, he won the same award for Research Excellence.
To learn more about Dr. Diego Turo and his research, visit the following websites:
Dr. Diego Turo Faculty Profile
Dr. Diego Turo Research