Find Faculty by Research Area
Below are descriptive summaries of each MechSE faculty member's research. Graduate student applicants are encouraged to contact faculty directly to inquire about open positions in their research group, only after they have been granted admission.
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Nikhil Chandra Admal: PhD, University of Minnesota, 2014. Current research: Solid mechanics; computational mechanics with a focus on materials defects in crystalline systems, and interaction between atomistic and continuum domains in multiscale modeling of materials. Developed models to study grain boundary-mediated plasticity in phenomena such as recrystallization and superplasticity in metallurgy. Developed a unified framework to link atomistic and continuum models such as classical and gradient elasticity with potential applications in multiscale modeling of materials.
Gaurav Bahl: PhD, Stanford University, 2010. Current research: Optical forces and optomechanics; micro-mechanical oscillators; sensors and actuators. Demonstrated the first microfluidic device that is mechanically actuated by light, with vibrational frequencies in the GHz regime. Demonstrated that light can be used to eliminate scattering induced mechanical losses in microsystems. Received a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Joseph Bentsman: PhD, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1984. Current research: Control of nonlinear and distributed parameter systems; nonlinear oscillations; network control; stability; stochastic multiscale methods. Introduced a new class of dynamical systems with active singularities that admit control actions during the singular phases of their motion.
Craig Bradshaw: PhD, Purdue University, 2012. Current research: Thermal systems, compressors, heat pumps, air-conditioning, refrigerant and lubricant properties, model-informed design optimization, model development, fundamentals of heat and fluid flow in thermal systems, waste-heat recovery, thermodynamics, heat transfer. Developed a novel peristaltic compressor for HVAC&R and air applications.
Quinn Brewster: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 1981. Current research: Energy and environment; combustion; energetic materials; thermal radiation; optical properties; solid rocket propulsion. Developed, with students, diagnostics and theories for energetic materials combustion including laser-recoil technique and low gas activation energy (WSB) model.
Lili Cai: PhD, Stanford University, 2016. Current research: Combustion synthesis; nanoscale materials; energy storage and conversion; smart wearables; personal thermal management; thermal radiation. Developed rapid and scalable flame synthesis methods of nanomaterials for renewable energy storage and conversion, catalysis and electronics. Developed nanophotonic textiles with tailored thermal radiation properties for localized thermal management of human body.
Leonardo P. Chamorro: PhD, University of Minnesota, 2010. Current research: Turbulence and fluid mechanics, particle dynamics, flow-structure interaction, wind and marine energy, advanced flow diagnostics, and geophysical flows focusing on turbulent boundary layer processes. Uncovered unsteady interaction between flexible structures and turbulence across scales; developed a fast, non-iterative tracking algorithm for the Lagrangian description of turbulence.
Mickey Clemon: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2017; P.E. California. Additive manufacturing process scaling and optimization; mechanical design; sustainable manufacturing; impulsively loaded pressure vessels. Development of collaborative 3D robotic printing using material extrusion.
C. Ricardo Constante-Amores: PhD, Imperial College London, 2021. Current research: Fluid mechanics related to multiphase flows, data-driven turbulence modeling from a dynamical system point of view, Koopman theory for high-dimensional systems. Developed a modeling framework that accounts for the presence of surfactants in multiphase systems; created low-dimensional models for canonical turbulent systems such as pipe flow and plane Couette flow; studied the role of kidney stones in renal pelvis using patient-specific CFD models.
Geir Dullerud: PhD, Cambridge University, 1994. Current research: Control of complex systems, including multirate and asynchronous systems; hybrid systems; and distributed robotics. Made significant contributions to distributed control.
Elif Ertekin: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2006. Current research: Computational modeling; mechanical properties at the nanoscale; energy storage and conversion; defect-property relationships; shape memory alloys. Developed models defect-mediated phase transitions, structure/property relations and vibrational energy transport at the nanoscale. Applied computer models to design and predict new materials for novel photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and other energy conversion materials.
Randy Ewoldt: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. Current research: Rheology; fluid mechanics; soft matter; design. Made the first complete measurement of weakly-nonlinear oscillatory rheology, which had been theoretically anticipated for over 50 years, and combined this with new theoretical modeling to resolve a nearly 70-year debate concerning molecular processes of nonlinear mechanics of polymeric networks.
Nazanin Farjam: PhD, University of Michigan, 2023. Current research: Process modeling and control, advanced manufacturing, printed electronics, electrohydrodynamic jet printing (EHD). Focusing on enhancing the flexibility, robustness, and efficiency of complex dynamic systems by developing modeling frameworks and intelligent control strategies to push the frontier of advanced manufacturing and optimize the behavior of systems and their components. Developed a new paradigm in high-resolution additive and subtractive printing at the nano-to-micro scale. Developed the first high-fidelity modeling framework for a high-resolution EHD process across a range of printing conditions. Developed learning-based control strategies for complex manufacturing systems to address operational needs for them and optimize their performance while ensuring repeatability, robustness, and automation.
Jie Feng: PhD, Princeton University, 2016. Current research: Multiphase and interfacial dynamics oriented by bubbles and drops for energy, environment and human health; lipid vesicle dynamics and polymer self-assembly for drug delivery. Investigating bubble-bursting aerosols at a structurally compound interface and their implications for contaminant-containing aerosol emission. Studying multi-phase flow in confined spaces related to non-Newtonian fluids and particle-laden foams for enhanced oil recovery. Developing hybrid vesicle swimmers for efficient drug delivery. Developed a versatile nanoprecipitation platform for nanoparticle-oriented bioengineering and drug delivery. Developed a modeling framework for osmotic delivery and release of vesicles under light-triggered chemical reactions.
Placid Ferreira: PhD, Purdue University, 1987. Current research: Nanomanufacturing; nanomechatronics; manufacturing automation and systems control; process planning; programmable machines. Developed solid-state superionic stamping (S4), a process for stamping nanoscale metallic structures; high-resolution electrohydrodynamic writing for direct writing of sub-micron structures; fully functional parallel-kinematics two and three degree-of-freedom MEMS and Mesoscale nanopositioning stages.
Paul Fischer: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989. Current research: High-order methods and scalable algorithms for computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer. Developed the first commercial software for distributed memory parallel computers.
Mattia Gazzola: PhD, ETH Zurich, 2013. Current research: Biolocomotion; computational soft robotics; computational fluid dynamics; bio-inspired optimization. Developed inverse design approach for optimal bio-locomotion strategies; discovered universal scaling laws of inertial swimming; designed first tissue-engineered cyborg ray.
Nick Glumac: PhD, California Institute of Technology, 1994. Current research: Spectroscopy of reacting flows and energetic materials; combustion diagnostics; metal combustion. Produced definitive evidence that the transition away from diffusion-limited combustion in aluminum combustion occurs in the particle size range of 1 to 20 microns.
Varda F. Hagh: PhD, Arizona State University, 2018. Current Research: Computational and experimental soft matter; bio-inspired design and training of meta-materials; memory formation in matter. Developed a systematic approach to harness the power of disorder in materials by introducing and manipulating transient learning degrees of freedom during material processing. This optimization method trains the local properties of a material to achieve the desired global behavior.
Kellie Halloran: PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2024. Shoulder biomechanics during and after handcycling exercise; inverse musculoskeletal modeling; injury prevention during exercise; engineering education. Quantified shoulder loads (moments, muscle forces) during high- and moderate-intensity prolonged handcycling exercise using subject-specific musculoskeletal models.
Bumsoo Han: PhD, University of Minneosta, 2001. Current research: Biotransport of drug delivery, biomechanics at the tumor-storma interface, biophysics of cell migration and chemotaxis, microphysiological system of pancreatic cancer and brain, microfluidics and 3D printing of soft materials. Established new mechanisms of poroelastic transport for tissue engineering and 3D printing of advanced hydrogels. Developed microfluidic tumor models of pancreatic cancer with molecular precisions using genetically engineered cells. Pioneered application of microfluidic tumor models for the discovery of drugs and drug delivery system.
Jiajun He: PhD, Stanford University, 2016. Current research: Porous materials for clean energy applications; carbon capture; fluid phase and interfacial behaviors associated with oil and gas production. Proposed a model to describe the phase behaviors of hydrocarbon mixtures under nanopore confinement. Developed a design methodology for porous carbons to enhance methane volumetric storage capacity.
Sascha Hilgenfeldt: PhD, University of Marburg, 1997. Current research: Experimental and theoretical microfluidics; cell morphology and adhesion; biomechanics; structure and dynamics of tissues, foams, and other domain systems. Elucidated fundamental properties of interfacial systems, including sonoluminescence, domain coarsening, and size-topology correlations. Developed a new, powerful method of microfluidic flow control and a structural diagnostic approach to cell and tissue mechanics.
Naira Hovakimyan: PhD, Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 1992. Current research: Autonomous systems, environmental sciences and social engineering. Developed a new approach for design of robust adaptive control systems with guaranteed robustness/performance, pioneered a new approach to safe learning within the robust adaptive control architecture, explored safety of operation of aerial systems from the perspective of humans’ perceived safety, contributed to the foundation for development of cyber-secure autopilots, explored reinforcement learning and its applications to challenges related to global warming, and contributed to social engineering with applications to health analytics.
Elizabeth T. Hsiao-Wecksler: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Current research: Design and control of ball-based robots and wheelchairs and medical education task trainers; wearable sensors for anxiety detection; musculoskeletal biomechanics of locomotion. Developed methods to better quantify gait and postural control; created ballbot wheelchair (PURE), portable powered ankle-foot-orthosis, automatic gear shifting manual wheelchair, and robotic task trainers for performing neurological exams and heart surgery.
Shelby Hutchens: PhD, California Institute of Technology, 2011. Current research: Failure in soft solids: soft solid dynamics; large, non-linear deformation mechanics; polymers and composites; microscale materials; cellular solids. Discovered a critical length scale in the cut-driven failure of elastomeric solids. Constructed soft, osmotically-active, plant tissue-inspired liquid/solid composites.
Anthony Jacobi: PhD, Purdue University, 1989. Current research: Heat transfer and fluid mechanics with end-use energy applications. Advanced vortex-enhanced and interrupted fin designs to improve heat transfer and reduce pressure drop; developed surface microstructures for condensate management.
Iwona Jasiuk: PhD, Northwestern University, 1986. Current research: Mechanics of materials; micromechanics; biomechanics; composite, biological, and nano materials; interfaces; elasticity. Characterized hierarchical structure, composition, and properties of bone and developed experimentally based multi-scale models of bone. Proposed new poroelastic model of bone adaptation based on energy dissipation. Designed, additively manufactured, and modelled novel lightweight multifunctional bioinspired architectured materials.
Blake Johnson: PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2012. Experimental fluid mechanics, optical diagnostics, engineering education, service learning and community engagement. Developed a course on Teaching and Leadership that is now required of the majority of graduate teaching assistants in The Grainger College of Engineering.
Harley Johnson: PhD, Brown University, 1999. Current research: Nanomechanics of electronic and photonic materials; mechanics of nanostructures; materials for photovoltaics; defects and properties of 2D materials; plasma-material interactions. Described a new class of dislocations in layered 2D materials.
Gabriel Juarez: PhD, Northwestern University, 2009. Current research: Physics of fluids and living systems, Multiphysics microfluidics for particle manipulation, biodegradation of crude oil by bacteria, hydromechanics of coral larvae on reefs. Developed microfluidic devices and flow visualization techniques to quantify microscale processes in heterogenous fluid environments such as bacterial growth on oil-water interfaces and larval settlement on surfaces.
Mariana Kersh: PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010. Current research: Structure-function in musculoskeletal tissues during growth and aging; imaging; finite element method. Quantified bone strain in vivo, during locomotive tasks using coupled multi-scale musculoskeletal and finite element model.
William King: PhD, Stanford University, 2002. Current research: Additive manufacturing, heat exchangers, thermal energy transport, scanning probe microscopy, micro- and nano-manufacturing. Developed measurement technologies for materials characterization and manufacturing. Led national initiative on digital design and manufacturing.
Seid Koric: PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2006. Current research: Large-scale multiphysics modeling; high-performance computing; materials processing; biomechanics; sparse direct solver technologies, artificial intelligence (AI). Developed several ground-breaking numerical methods used nowadays worldwide to optimize continuous casting and other steel-making processes and minimize their defects and CO2 footprint. Lately leading novel interdisciplinary research in the confluence of AI and classical numerical methods in engineering and science.
Tonghun Lee: PhD, Stanford University, 2006. Current research: Hypersonic and gas turbine propulsion; combustion; laser and optical diagnostics; oxidation of alternative and renewable fuels; alternative power generation. Investigated novel chemical energy conversion phenomena in combustion systems using advanced laser diagnostics.
Callan Luetkemeyer: PhD, University of Michigan, 2020. Current research: Soft tissue mechanics (experiment, computation, and theory), image-based modeling, orthopedic and reproductive injuries. Demonstrated the potential of image-based material modeling methods for medical diagnostics by inferring differences in tissue microstructure from only low-resolution mechanical deformation data.
Moshe Matalon: PhD, Cornell University, 1977. Current research: Combustion theory; modeling and simulation of chemically reacting flows; theoretical fluid mechanics; applied mathematics; stability and bifurcation theory; asymptotic and perturbation methods. Developed (i) hydrodynamic theory of flame propagation in premixed combustible gases that includes the well-known flame speed-flame stretch relation and a coordinate-free expression for the flame stretch rate, (ii) comprehensive criteria for the onset of instabilities in premixed combustion, (iii) theory for premixed turbulent flames, (iv) multi-dimensional, time-dependent theory of diffusion flames that includes complete burning, partial burning and extinction, (v) first characterization of thermo-diffusive instabilities in diffusion flames (cellular and pulsating), (vi) numerous contributions to droplet and solid particle combustion, edge flame dynamics, micro-scale combustion and combustion in porous media, and flame acceleration in long narrow channels.
Katie Matlack: PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014. Current research: Wave propagation in solids; phononic materials and mechanical metamaterials; fluid-structure interaction; nonlinear acoustics and vibrations; contact acoustic nonlinearity; additive manufacturing; ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation. Developed new materials and structures for advanced vibration control; developed new in situ nonlinear ultrasonic techniques to probe dislocation-based damage in metals.
Prashant Mehta: PhD, Cornell University, 2004. Current research: Dynamical systems; control theory; nonlinear estimation. Invented the feedback particle filter algorithm for nonlinear estimation.
Brian Mercer: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2016. Computational and theoretical solid mechanics; finite element methods; molecular dynamics methods; multiscale and multiphysics modeling; additive manufacturing.
Nenad Miljkovic: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. Current research: Phase change heat transfer (boiling, evaporation, condensation, melting, and freezing); thermal energy storage, electronics cooling, dynamic system modeling, anti-fouling coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, anti-bacterial coatings, fluid mechanics of droplets and bubbles; micro/nanofabrication; additive manufacturing, interfacial phenomena; renewable energy conversion. Developed guidelines for the design, optimization, and fabrication of micro/nano-structured surfaces to enhance phase change heat transfer.
Martin Ostoja-Starzewski: PhD, McGill University, 1983. Current research: Mechanics and transport in random and fractal media; helices and chiral media; non-classical thermomechanics; stochastic wave propagation; traumatic brain injury. Developed (i) models of impact waves in man-made and natural media, including human brains under concussion; (ii) micromechanically based scaling laws, tensor random fields, and stochastic finite elements; (iii) universal elastic anisotropy index; (iv) linking continuum mechanics to spontaneous violations of the entropy inequality; (v) mechanics of helically wound cables; (vi) electromagnetic shielding by nanocomposites.
Arne Pearlstein: PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 1983. Current research: Computational studies of incompressible flow, with applications to stability; vortex shedding; contaminant removal, and chemically reacting systems; experimental development of transparent, immiscible, refractive index-matched systems for use as surrogates in multiphase flow. Discovered the first, and most of the known, multi-valued stability boundaries in fluid mechanics.
João Ramos: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. Current research: Whole-body teleoperation of humanoid robots; robot design and control for dynamic motions; human-machine interfaces; bio-inspired robotics. Developed a bilateral feedback teleoperation strategy to synchronize the motion of a human operator and that of a humanoid robot for dynamic manipulation and agile locomotion.
M. Taher Saif: PhD, Cornell University, 1993. Current research: Mechanics of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS); nanoscale materials behavior; neuro-mechanics; mechanics of cancer cells and tumor microenvironment; biological machines; single cell mechanics. Discovered a new phenomenon where plastically deformed nano crystalline metals recover plastic strain under macroscopically stress-free conditions; neurons actively maintain a rest tension, which is essential for neurotransmission. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Srinivasa Salapaka: PPhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2002. Current research: Robust control, scanning probe microscopy, precision positioning systems, combinatorial optimization, machine learning algorithms, and control of power electronics and systems. Developing new control architectures for bottom-up power grids.
Huseyin Sehitoglu: PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1983. Current research: Thermo-mechanical behavior of materials; phase transformations and shape memory. Developed a model for determining the crystal orientation dependence of critical resolved shear stress for slip in shape memory alloys; developed an atomistic-continuum treatment to predict threshold stress intensity in fatigue in agreement with experiments.
Sanjiv Sinha: PhD, Stanford University, 2005. Current research: Thermoelectric energy conversion physics, materials, and devices; thermochemical and thermophysical energy storage; fundamental heat conduction physics; intracellular thermometry. Developed and patented roll-to-roll fabricated hybrid metal-polymer heat exchangers for waste heat harvesting; developed and patented a thermometer for measuring temperatures inside living cells; developing thermal storage energy technologies for buildings and industrial process heating.
Kyle C. Smith: PhD, Purdue University, 2012. Current research: Electrochemical separations and energy storage; multi-scale computational modeling; mass, charge, heat, and fluid transport in heterogeneous and porous materials; thermodynamics of electrochemical materials. Developed and predicted strategies to desalinate water in porous electrodes using battery materials. Developing ion sorption materials with molecular recognition guided by atomistic and pore-scale modeling.
Petros Sofronis: PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1987. Current research: Solid mechanics; elastic-plastic fracture mechanics; materials compatibility with hydrogen; mechanics of next generation nuclear reactor materials; finite element methods. Rationalized and linked for the first time the effects of hydrogen at the microscale with evidence of hydrogen-induced flow localization at the macroscale.
Kelly Stephani: PhD, University of Texas at Austin, 2012. Current research: Computational modeling of non-equilibrium flows; gas/plasma-surface interactions; characterization of material defects/properties. Established the mapping between gas-phase chemical kinetics, surface energetics, and material degradation for high-temperature materials subject to oxidation. Received a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Co-director of the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics under the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, OUSD(R&E).
Ke Tang: PhD, Zhejiang University, 2005. Engineering education; heat transfer and fluid mechanics with end-use energy conversion applications as refrigeration, heat pumps and air conditioning; liquid-vapor two-phase flow visualization; electronics cooling; energy conversion systems; thermoacoustics.
Sameh Tawfick: PhD, University of Michigan, 2012. Current research: Material design, processing and manufacturing; mechanics of materials. Developed synthesis and self-assembly processes to manufacture multi-functional nanocomposites.
Alexander Vakakis: PhD, California Institute of Technology, 1990. Current research: Nonlinear dynamics and vibrations; non-smooth dynamics; nonlinear modal analysis, reduced-order modeling and nonlinear model updating; granular acoustic metamaterials, nonreciprocal acoustics and stress wave tailoring; targeted energy transfer and vibration energy harvesting; nano- and micro-resonators; passive control of vortex-induced vibrations and aeroelastic instabilities; intentional nonlinearity in design. Working on a new concept for intentional use of strong nonlinearity in design and nonlinear passive energy management; formulated novel nonparametric multi-scale system identification methodologies.
Arend van der Zande: PhD, Cornell University, 2011. Current research: Nanomechanics, and functional devices from nanoscale materials and heterostructures; nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS); atomically precise nanomanufacturing techniques. Developed graphene-based NEMS. First observed atomic grain boundary structure and properties in 2D molecular membranes. Developed techniques for building functional electronic and photonic devices from 2D material heterostructures.
Amy Wagoner Johnson: PhD, Brown University, 2002. Current research: Design, manufacture, characterization, and mechanical behavior of materials for bone replacement and repair; design of functional materials for coral propagation and restoration; microstructural (via second harmonic generation imaging) and mechanical characterization (bulk, micromechanical via indentation) of soft tissue for applications to preterm birth.
Kevin Wandke: PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2024. Machine learning for solving coupled PDEs; simulation and modeling of soft robots. Developed a method for correcting energy drift in long timescale machine learning simulations of dynamic systems.
Sophie Wang: PhD, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 2012. Current research: Thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics. Fundamentals of single-phase and two-phase convection, phase change and stability with applications in energy systems. Heat transfer enhancement, coefficient of performance (COP) improvement, optimization, and control for heating and cooling systems.
Matthew West: PhD, California Institute of Technology, 2004. Current research: Computational methods; multiscale time integration. Developed the theory of variational time integration methods; obtained fully asynchronous integrators for computational mechanics.
Janelle Wharry: PhD, University of Michigan, 2012. Current research: structure-property-functionality relationships of materials in mechanical, irradiation, electrochemical, and corrosive extreme environments. Developed theories to explaining phase transformations in steels under mechano-irradiation extremes; work is enabling code-qualification of advanced manufacturing methods for nuclear structural alloys.
Siyi Xu: PhD, Harvard University, 2022. Current research: Soft robotics, wearable and implantable sensors, electrically-responsive soft actuators, fluidic systems. Developed biocompatible soft sensors and power-dense transducers, including actuators, valves, and pumps, for the actuation and control of soft robots. Demonstrated the potential of compliant, lightweight, and compact wearable robotic systems for daily assistive and therapeutic purposes.
Justin Yim: PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2020. Current research: Legged robot design, legged robot control, bioinspired robotics, small robots. Developed hopping robot control and estimation demonstrating agile, precise, and autonomous jumping in a small, one-legged robot.
L. Winston Zhang: PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1996. Applied heat transfer with applications to electronics cooling and heat exchanger design. Heat pipe design and manufacturing. Numerical heat transfer.