10:10 am
322 Fryklund Hall

Abstract

Mechanical behavior of soft materials presents a unique set of engineering challenges and opportunities. These materials can demonstrate large nonlinear deformations, surface effects, and viscous energy dissipation; phenomena which are typically negligible in traditional engineering materials like metals and composites. One soft system that is of particular interest to me is thin membranes. They play a pivotal role in a diverse range of engineering applications such as coatings and adhesives, MEMS and NEMS design, and biomedical devices among many others. In the first part of the presentation, I will talk about my Ph.D. work which focused on modeling the contact mechanics of nonlinear membranes and its applications to biology. In the second part, I will talk about how we leverage Solid Modeling and Simulation at 3M to develop new products and technologies. I will finish with some personal thoughts on transitioning from an academic setting to Industrial R&D.

Bio

Dr. Abhishek Srivastava is a Senior Research Engineer in the Advanced Modeling and Simulation Group at 3M R&D in St. Paul. Abhishek received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Cornell University where he worked on Contact Mechanics of Membranes. At 3M, he is responsible for implementing structural modeling and analysis on cross-functional product and technology development teams. In his spare time, Abhishek enjoys hiking and photographing nature.