Sutural Tessellation and Phononic Materials

Position description: The Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering is recruiting a PhD student to conduct research of sutural tessellation and the design of new architectural phononic materials for resisting both periodic dynamic loads and impacts. The research includes analytical, computational and experimental investigations. A solid background and/or interest in the following subjects is preferable: theoretical knowledge in phononic crystals and mechanical metamaterials, wave propagation in solids, signal processing, and data acquisition system for dynamic experiments.

Financial support: Doctoral students are supported with a stipend ($28,541 for AY 22/23), paid tuition and healthcare. Financial support after the first year is contingent on academic standing and research progress.

Research Facilities: IBE faculty and students have access to state-of-the-art research facilities, including Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL), Shared Instrumentation Laboratories (SIL), and the Center for Computational Research (CCR). SEESL is equipped with a diverse array of test equipment and platforms, including a split-Hopkinson pressure bar, two 6 DOF earthquake simulators, a geotechnical laminar box, a multiple-fan wind tunnel, a strong floor and strong wall, a furnace for structural fire testing, wind tunnel, and standard tools and equipment needed for performing state-of-the-art concrete materials and geotechnical-engineering research. The split-Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus (shown right) is used to characterize the stress-strain relationship of structural materials at very high strain rates (e.g., 5000/sec or greater). SIL provides access to a scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, nano-indenter, and other advanced equipment for nano/micro-scale investigation of materials. CCR is an academic supercomputing facility at the University at Buffalo and maintains high-performance computing and visualization laboratories.

Contact associate professor Jongmin Shim for the position description and Jackie Baum, graduate studies coordinator, for other information, including admission, visas, and the graduate program in the department.