About Our Lab

We are broadly interested in studying the mechanics of soft engineering and biological materials using an integrated experimental and modeling approach. In particular, we are interested in adaptive materials that  can  exhibit dramatic changes in microstructure, mechanical properties, and  macroscopic shape in response to an environmental stimulus.

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Research

Biomechanics of the Cornea and Sclera

Biomechanics of the Optic Nerve Head

Biomechanics of the Skin

Blast Injury Biomechanics

Collagen Growth and Remodeling

Design of Architected Materials

Dielectric Elastomers

Fracture and Failure Mechanics

Hydrogels

Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Polymers and Composites

Shape Memory Polymers

Recent Publications

A. E. H. Chehade, B. Shen, C. M. Yakacki, T. D. Nguyen, S. Govindjee, “Finite element modeling of viscoelastic liquid crystal elastomers”

A. E. H. Chehade, B. Shen, C. M. Yakacki, T. D. Nguyen, S. Govindjee, “Finite element modeling of viscoelastic liquid crystal elastomers”, in prep.

Liquid Crystal Elastomers

I. A. Pitha, L. Du, T. D. Nguyen, H. A. Quigley “IOP and glaucoma damage: the essential role of mechanosensors”

I. A. Pitha, L. Du, T. D. Nguyen, H. A. Quigley “IOP and glaucoma damage: the essential role of mechanosensors”, in prep.

Optic Nerve Head

B. K. Zimmerman, B. Datta, R. Shi, R. Schulman, T. D. Nguyen, “A Reactive Electrochemo- mechanical Theory for Growth and Remodeling of Polyelectrolyte Hydrogels and Application to Dynamic Polymerization of DNA Hydrogels”

B. K. Zimmerman, B. Datta, R. Shi, R. Schulman, T. D. Nguyen, “A Reactive Electrochemo- mechanical Theory for Growth and Remodeling of Polyelectrolyte Hydrogels and Application to Dynamic Polymerization of DNA Hydrogels”, in prep.

Hydrogels

S. Deng, J. Liu, B. Datta, A. Pantula, D. H. Gracias, T. D. Nguyen, B. A. Bitner, N. J. Cowan, “A Data-Driven Approach to Geometric Modeling of Systems with Low-Bandwidth Actuator Dynamics”

S. Deng, J. Liu, B. Datta, A. Pantula, D. H. Gracias, T. D. Nguyen, B. A. Bitner, N. J. Cowan, “A Data-Driven Approach to Geometric Modeling of Systems with Low-Bandwidth Actuator Dynam- ics”, DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2307.01062, in prep.

Hydrogels
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