Overview
My research centers on computational solid mechanics, with applications to heterogeneous, complex, and soft materials. My group develops analytical and computational methods to determine how geometry, material topology, characteristic length scales, and deformation mechanisms control material behavior. A unifying objective of our work is to identify fundamental mechanical principles that explain observed phenomena, guide experiments, and enable the design of materials and structures with targeted properties. This approach often reveals unexpected questions and presents new opportunities, leading us to establish new research directions and collaborations across mechanics, materials science, physics, and planetary science.
We cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from atomistic systems to large-scale continuum solids and from quasi-static deformation to impact and shock loading. My current research program is organized around two primary thrusts: (1) strain-mediated mechanics and structural transformations in two-dimensional materials and (2) granular mechanics under low-gravity and cohesive conditions. In the first area, we use atomistic and continuum models to determine how strain, interlayer interactions, and lattice geometry give rise to new stacking configurations, moiré structures, and associated material properties. In the second area, we develop computational and theoretical frameworks to explain granular intrusion and impact across gravitational environments ranging from Earth to the Moon and small planetary bodies. Our work on impact problems has spurred an emerging extension to the area of high-velocity impacts and the material's response to localized energy deposition.
Currently, we are actively working on the following projects:
- Strain Engineering of Two-Dimensional Materials.
- Granular Impact and Intrusion under Low-Gravity Conditions.
- Computational Modeling of Energy Deposition in Solids.
- Machine-Learning Design of Self-Complementary Snap-Fit Polymers.
My goal is to develop predictive, multiscale mechanics frameworks that connect fundamental interactions and deformation mechanisms to experimentally observable behavior. In 2D materials, I investigate how strain and interlayer mechanics can be used to create and stabilize new structural configurations with controllable properties. In granular mechanics, I develop models that unify the effects of gravity, cohesion, friction, and inertia, enabling reliable predictions of planetary-surface interactions. Together, these efforts will advance the use of computation as both a tool for fundamental discovery and a bridge between mechanics-based theory and experimentally realizable systems.