Ulloa Research Group
Mechanics of Solids and Material Systems (MS)2
The behavior of solids and material systems remains one of the most challenging and relevant topics in mechanics. Whether dealing with ductile materials like metals, brittle materials like glass or bone, granular media like soils or other particle systems, or metamaterials with unprecedented behaviors, all materials deform, flow, and eventually fail or break. These intriguing phenomena—including elasticity, plasticity, damage, and fracture—which emerge at the macroscopic scale are driven by microstructural features spanning a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and are often strongly coupled with multi-physics processes such as thermal, hydraulic, and chemical diffusion.
Our group, (MS)2, develops mathematical and computational frameworks to describe complex material behavior, including (poly-)crystalline materials, metamaterials, biomaterials, granular media, and multi-physics systems. We focus on developing the next generation of predictive and scalable computational models by incorporating microstructural information, leveraging multi-scale analysis, and embracing the emerging paradigm of data-driven computing. Applications of these models include structural mechanics, material design, geomechanics, biomechanics, and energy systems.