In the Multiphysics Mechanics of Materials group we focus on – no prizes for guessing – multiphysics mechanics of materials, spanning across length-scales and covering a variety of materials ranging from the multi-functional graphene to biological materials like cells and bacterial biofilms and everything in between. 

 

We do have a soft spot for soft materials, given their increasing relevance to both engineering and biological applications, as well as the fundamental research need to characterize their mechanics under complex environments with multitude of driving forces. Their flexibility, adaptability, and tunability together with their fascinating mechanics has made them a topic of key focus in our group.

 

Multiphysics interactions offer a tremendous avenue to push the state of the art in the development of next-generation materials with customizable and unprecedented properties. At the same time, the underlying mechanics framework applies equally well to complex biological systems that often showcase an interplay of growth, transport, and responsiveness to chemical and mechanical (and more) stimuli.

 

Learnings on each of these fronts inform advances on the other. Central to this synergistic effort is the experimental understanding and predictive modeling capability of the multiphysics mechanics of these systems. This is where our research – focused on developing experimentally validated, rigorous mechanics models  – comes in.

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