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