Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering- Mechanics and Devices

University of Houston

How solids or materials behave under external stimuli, such as mechanical forces, temperature, and electromagnetic fields, is foundational to the understanding of many basic scientific phenomena and for developing technological applications that run the gamut from quantum electronics to airplanes to drug delivery for treating diseases. The work of faculty in this group reflects this breadth and richness of the field and encompasses a plethora of topics that connect mechanics with other fields such as materials science, physics, and biology. Some examples of research topics include: mechanical deformation and failure of materials, behavior of biological cells and impact on human health, multifunctional materials such as shape memory alloys and electro-magneto-mechanical materials, advanced composites, nanomechanics, impact of mechanical deformation on quantum materials, mechanics of soft matter such as polymers, gels and liquid crystals, metamaterials, energy harvesting and storage, understanding materials through atomistic simulations and microscale computations, nonlinear continuum mechanics, and computational method development, among others.