In terms of my background, I have taken two courses relating to solid mechanics. The first course was Mechanics of Deformable Bodies, which was an introductory strength of materials course. I have also taken a course called Aerospace Structures. In this course, the first half was devoted to elasticity and the second portion of the course was about solving problems relating to failure in aircraft. We were also introduced to Finite Element Analysis and performed labs using FEA software.
I majored in Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate.
My strength in this course is that I have been exposed to the subject matter before, and I find it really interesting. I believe that I need to improve my intuition about what is happening in real world problems, and making the correct assumptions to be able to solve problems.
I am not officially affiliated with a research group yet, but I am currently taking a 299R under Professor Vlassak.
My research directions are in solid mechanics and materials science.
Solid mechanics will definitely help in my research considering it is the foundation of what I will be focusing on. This will contribute to my education in general by giving me a strong foundation in understanding the behavior of materials.