Our research group focuses on two (2) broad areas, namely:

1. Targeted design and development of engineering materials and structures – A vast area of untapped potential exists for the exploitation of materials and structures for enhanced multi-functionality. Currently, materials development centers around the maximization or minimization of a single metric, e.g. deformation, conductance, electrochemistry, temperature, flow, etc. This is done even though many natural and artificial systems experience various types of physical phenomena during usage such as thermo-mechanical loading (aircraft turbojet engines), electromagnetism (Li-Ion batteries), electrochemistry (corrosion), and fluid-structure interaction (aerodynamics). Typical development strategies utilizing current manufacturing methods often require a trade-off in desired behaviors. Therefore, the use of novel manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing (AM) and newly developed multi-functional materials such as high entropy alloys (HEAs) and heterostructured materials (HMs) have great potential to enable increased functionality, efficiency, and cost savings from a design, manufacturing, and/or performance standpoint.

2. Complementary, full-field experiments and modeling – Existing experimental methods for evaluating the response of structural materials have remained largely unchanged for the past half century. Recently, the use of non-destructive techniques has shown large successes in the evaluation of polycrystalline material behavior under applied fields in three-dimensions. Examples of this include synchrotron- and lab-based high energy x-ray techniques such as high energy diffraction microscopy (HEDM) and computed tomography (CT). In-situ 3D materials analysis enables the full-field response of materials under applied fields to be known in-situ, thereby resulting in more accurate predictive models. This combination of realistic experiments and efficient crystal-scale modeling can help unlock long-standing materials problems such as short crack growth prediction, thereby leading to safer structures and vehicles.

*See subpage information for is a description of recent and ongoing research projects.