This symposium is by invitation only.
This symposium will highlight recent advances in the mechanics of materials across length and time scales, with emphasis on experimental characterization, computational modeling, and materials design. Topics will include deformation and failure of metals and structural materials, nanoscale and microscale mechanics, in situ mechanical testing, architected and bioinspired materials, additive manufacturing, fracture and damage, multiscale modeling, and design optimization. The symposium will bring together researchers developing new methods and insights to understand, predict, and engineer the mechanical behavior of advanced materials.
This award symposium was established to honor Professor William D. Nix and the tremendous legacy that he has developed and shared with the minerals, metals, and materials community and to highlight and promote continued progress and innovation relevant to research into the underlying mechanisms and mechanical behavior of macro-, micro-, and nanoscale materials. This symposium specifically recognizes Professor Nix’s influential role in establishing the science behind our understanding of mechanical behavior, as well as recent developments in characterization and modeling of deformation mechanisms across scales.
Professor Nix’s research and seminal contributions to structural materials, thin films, and nanoscale plasticity have had significant impact on critical U.S. industries, spawned new fields of study, and motivated generations of researchers working in fields that span from aerospace to microelectronics. Breakthroughs in technologies for these critical industries depend heavily on the availability of advanced materials that can be engineered and optimized at the nanoscale. Professor Nix’s groundbreaking contributions have allowed us to characterize, understand, and predict the mechanical behavior and reliability of such materials and have been critical enablers of these key technologies.