RESEARCH

Welcome to my research web page. My general area of interest is the multi time and length scale mechanical characterization of material response under static and dynamic (either impact or fatigue) loading. Materials of interest range from traditional structural materials, such as metals and polymers, to advanced materials, such as composites, multifunctional materials, functionally graded materials (FGMs), MicroElectroMechanical Systems, nickel-based superalloys, and micro-structurally tailored granular metamaterials for wave mitigation. My work usually centers around the constitutive and fracture characterization of these materials. It is mainly experimental in nature, but a component of numerical and theoretical work is also performed to complement the experiments when necessary.

Midwest Structural Sciences Center (MSSC): Between 2006-2013, I served as the Technical Director of the Midwest Structural Sciences Center (MSSC) and a member of its steering committee. The MSSC was an interdisciplinary collaborative center between researchers at UIUC and the Air Vehicles Directorate of the AFRL at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The center involved about 20 senior researchers from UIUC and AFRL, and about 10 graduate students from UIUC.

Stress Wave Mitigation (SWAMI) Center: I also served as the Principal Investigator and Director of the Army-funded MURI for “Design of Adaptive Load Mitigating Materials Using Nonlinear Stress Wave Tailoring”. This 6 year effort, which started in 2009, involved the very close interaction of 6 faculty at UIUC and Caltech, 12 graduate students, and 4 postdoctoral researchers in a diverse and interdisciplinary research program. More details can be found here.