Mechanics of Solids Research

The mechanics of solids is an engineering science that is fundamental to thepractice of mechanical, civil, structural, and aeronautical engineering; it is also directly relevant to materials engineering, nanotechnology, biology, geophysics, and other branches of engineering and applied science. The Mechanics of Solids Group at Brown University fosters a balanced program of research and instruction that integrates the perspectives of continuum mechanics, structure of matter, and materials science. The program has a long tradition of leadership through innovations in the analytical, computational, and experimental concepts and methodologies that form the core of the field.

Some of the current research in the Solid Mechanics group includes:

• The Micro and Nanoscale Behavior of Advanced Materials
• The Mechanical Behavior of Soft Matter (e.g., gels, polymers)
• The Mechanics of Cells and Biological Systems (e.g., cell adhesion, endocytosis, traumatic brain injury)
• Multiscale Materials Modeling, Deformation and Failure of Thin Films and Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)
• The Mechanics and Failure Behavior of Batteries and Energy Storage Systems

Many of these research activities are part of the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Micro- and Nanomechanics of Electronic and Structural Materials and the General Motors Collaborative Research Laboratory (CRL) for Computational Materials Research.

The Group also operates and maintains the state-of-the-art Computational Mechanics Research Facility for use by its graduate students and faculty. Our faculty use theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches, and we maintain a close interactions with colleagues in applied mathematics, physics, material science, biomedical engineering and the Brown Alpert Medical School.

The mission of Brown University is to serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating, and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry, and by educating and preparing students to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation.

We do this through a partnership of students and teachers in a unified community known as a University-college.

The School of Engineering supports the University's overall mission in the following way:

Brown University's School of Engineering educates future leaders in the fundamentals of engineering in an environment of world-class research. We stress an interdisciplinary approach and a broad understanding of underlying global issues. Collaborations across the campus and beyond strengthen our development of technological advances that address challenges of vital importance to us all.