The High Performance Materials and Structures Lab

Our group is focused on studying the mechanical behavior and performance of materials and structures, at various scales from nanowires and living cells to ships and buildings. Our special interest and expertise is development of new concepts and designs for enhancing the performance of structures and materials. We use a combination of methods that range from simple observations and simple scaling laws to detailed computational models and sophisticated experimental equipments to carry out our work.

Topics of our work are generally motivated by considering the current challenges and needs in structures, mechanics, materials including biomaterials and biomechanics and nanotechnology. Many of these topics are initiated and carried out via our industrial collaborations.

Recent Publications

• Mechanics of highly-deformed elastic shells
  A. Vaziri, Thin-Walled Structures, 2009, 47, pp. 692-700.
• Nanoscale ripples on polymers created by a focused ion beam
  M.W. Moon, J. H. Han, A. Vaziri, E. K. Her, K. H. Oh, K.R. Lee, & J. W. Hutchinson, Nanotechnology, 2009, 20, pp. 115301
• Cell and biomolecular mechanics in silico
  A. Vaziri & A. Gopinath, Nature Materials, 2008, 7, pp. 15-23.
• Surface Modification of polymers using a multi-step plasma treatment
  M.W. Moon & A. Vaziri, Scripta Materialia, 2009, 60, pp. 44-47.
• Indium nanowires grown at ultra-fast rate 
  S. S. Oh, D. H. Kim, M.W. Moon, A. Vaziri, M. Kim, E. Yoon, K. H. Oh & J. W. Hutchinson, Advanced Materials, 2008, 6, pp. 1093-1098.
• Material aspects of dynamic neck retardation 
  Z. Xue, A. Vaziri & J. W. Hutchinson, J. Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2008, 56, pp. 93-113.
• Localized and extended deformation of elastic shells 
  A. Vaziri & L. Mahadevan, Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2008, 105, pp. 7913-7918.