The Mechanics of Soft Materials Lab (https://www.msm.seas.ucla.edu/) led by Prof Lihua Jin in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has a PhD opening to be filled in 2025 fall. Successful candidates are expected to work on modeling, simulations, and experiments of soft materials, soft tissue and soft robots. The ideal candidates will be highly motivated with a strong background in solid mechanics and computation, and be fluent in spoken and written English.

The Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity Research Laboratory (NAMEF) of the Polytechnic School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo (EPUSP) in Brazil has an opening for a 2-year postdoctoral fellow (which may be extended to an additional year depending on funding availability) with a strong background in fracture mechanics and computational modeling of materials starting from February/2025.

Our latest paper, "Developing Mode I Cohesive Traction Laws for Crystalline UHMWPE Interphases Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations," is now freely accessible for the next 50 days from this link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1k9Pk3In-v14Go

Dielectric rods have been employed in various electromechanical applications, including energy harvesters and sensors. This paper develops a general framework to model large deformations in dielectric rods, considering both direct and converse flexoelectric effects. Initially, we derive the governing differential equations for a three-dimensional dielectric continuum solid to model large deformations, incorporating converse flexoelectricity. Then, we derive the equilibrium equations for the flexoelectric strain-gradient special Cosserat rod.

We have a fully funded Ph.D. position available in the design and simulation of novel architected/meta materials, focusing on their nonlinear behavior under static and dynamic loading.

In unidirectional sliding of rubber contacts on smooth hard surface it has been found that contact shrinks largely in longitudinal directions, and generally much less in the transverse direction, and two explanations have been suggested to explain this: one is the effect of mixed mode fracture mechanics in the presence of adhesion (with mode II reducing adhesion and mode III less clear), and another uniquely based on finite strain effects even for a simple material model as neo-Hookean hyperelastic material.

A fully supported Ph.D. position is open immediately in the Advanced Manufacturing Research Group within the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), starting in Fall 2025. Our interdisciplinary research focuses on advancing additive manufacturing technologies for high-performance composite materials, with applications spanning aerospace, automotive, electronics, and biomedical industries.

Two PhD/PostDoc positions open for Fall 2025 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on: 

(1) Multiphysics modeling of biological systems and/or neuronal mechanics (NSF and ONR funded)

(2) Microstructure modeling in metal Additive Manufacturing (ONR funded).

Both positions focus on extensive computational mechanics and multiphysics modeling, and involve modeling phenomena across length scales. Prospective students with interest in numerical modeling, solid mechanics, multiphysics and/or biomechanics may email CV's to shiva dot rudraraju at wisc dot edu