MechSE’s Arend van der Zande was one of this year’s recipients of The Grainger College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research. As an assistant professor, he was honored for his research accomplishments and published work within the past year.
At Illinois, van der Zande has established an interdisciplinary research program in nanotechnology, mechanics, and material physics. His overarching focus is on the mechanics of nanostructures, with the goal of understanding the atomic-to-device-scale origins of mechanics in nanomaterials and utilizing their unique properties. He pursues a unique blend of novel nanomanufacturing techniques, materials synthesis, atomic- to device-scale nanomechanical characterization, atomistic modeling, and device exploration. His group is a leader in the field of 2D nanomechanics, with particular focus on the mechanics of van der Waals interface, developing atomically precise fabrication techniques, and demonstrating new classes of 2D nanomechanical systems like crumpled devices and highly tunable resonators.
van der Zande joined MechSE in 2015. He earned his PhD in physics from Cornell University in 2011.