Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Mechanics of Materials and Structures

This field of study emphasizes theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches that contribute to a fundamental understanding of and new insight into the properties and behavior of materials and structures. General areas of interest include nano- and micro-scale solid mechanics, analysis and design of lightweight structures and materials, smart structures, uncertainty quantification and propagation, structural synthesis and optimization, and machine learning applications in materials design and modeling. The emphasis of the research efforts is on predicting and enhancing stiffness, shape-change, stability, toughness, damage-tolerance, longevity, optimal life-cycle costs, and self-adaptivity.  Specific areas of focus include:

  • Active Materials
  • Advanced Manufacturing 
  • Composites
  • Defect Formation/Propagation 
  • Deformation and Failure
  • Machine Learning
  • Morphing Structures
  • Nanoscale Mechanics
  • Uncertainty Quantification


Participating Faculty
 

Ramin Bostanabad

Ramin Bostanabad, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Design under uncertainty, probabilistic machine learning, materials informatics, computational microstructure characterization, topology optimization
Email: raminb@uci.edu
Research Lab

Penghui Cao

Penghui Cao, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interests: Fundamental understanding of the mechanisms by which materials plasticly deform and fail, particularly in extreme environments
Email: caoph@uci.edu
Research Lab

Joyce Keyak

Joyce Keyak, Ph.D.

Professor of Radiological Sciences; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Development of radioactive bone cement for treatment of tumors in bone, bone strength assessment and treatment for osteoporosis and metastatic bone disease
Email: jhkeyak@uci.edu

SungWoo Nam

SungWoo Nam, Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Materials, mechanics and multifunctionality, understanding mechanically coupled properties in low-dimensional materials, building devices based on advanced materials
Email: sungwoo.nam@uci.edu
Research Lab

Julián Rimoli

Julián Rimoli, Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Computational solid mechanics, aerospace structures, multiscale modeling
Email: jrimoli@uci.edu

Tim Rupert

Tim Rupert, Ph.D.

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Materials Discovery and Synthesis Center (MDSC)
Research Interests: Mechanical behavior, nanomaterials, structure-property relationships, microstructural stability, grain boundaries and interfaces, materials characterization
Email: trupert@uci.edu
Research Lab

Lorenzo Valdevit

Lorenzo Valdevit, Ph.D.

Chair, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Director, Institute for Design & Manufacturing Innovation (IDMI)
Research Interests: Architected materials, mechanical metamaterials, additive manufacturing, optimal design
Email: valdevit@uci.edu
Research Lab

Mark Walter

Mark Walter, Ph.D.

Professor of Teaching in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Mechanics of multifunctional materials, building energy efficiency
Email: m.walter@uci.edu