Materials and Manufacturing

Solutions to some of the most pressing problems in society, whether in the area of energy harvesting, medical quality of life and general quality of living, industrial advances, or defense enhancements, are made possible by advances in materials science and engineering. Baylor researchers advance the field in multiple areas; from energy harvesting and conversion and lightweight multifunctional materials, to material systems for human based sensors and enhancements for our front-line military personnel. Materials science and engineering seeks to leverage the nearly 20 orders of magnitude in size ranging from the quantum length scale to production aircraft, creating solutions in environments ranging from near absolute zero to over 4,000°C, with applications ranging from beneath the ocean floor to deep space.

Learn more about our faculty and their areas of expertise below.

Paul Allison, Ph.D., Professor & Director, PONI Center (ME)

Expertise: Finite element analysis, Solid mechanics, Mechanics of materials, Mechanical properties, Stress analysis, Mechanical behavior of materials, Mechanical testing, Failure analysis, Materials, Materials testing

Trevor Fleck, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (ME)

Expertise: Additive manufacturing (AM) process including novel materials development, In situ process monitoring and process enhancement capabilities, AM component qualification

Ian Gravagne, Ph.D., Professor (ECE)

Expertise: Composite material Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT/NDE), Robotics, Nonlinear Dynamics and Control

Jonathan Hu, Ph.D., Professor (ECE)

Expertise: Specialty Optical fibers, High-power fiber lasers, Metamaterials, Nonlinear optics, Nanophotonics, Simulation and modeling

David Jack, Ph.D., Professor (ME)

Expertise: Constitutive modeling of contemporary composite processes, Rigid and flexible suspension dynamics, mechanics based modeling of contemporary composite products, conductivity analysis of carbon nanotube networks for high current applications, Non-destructive evaluation of composites using ultrasonic techniques, Large-scale simulations of oil well casings 

Lulin Jiang, Ph.D, Assistant Professor (ME)

Expertise: Design of thermo-fluids systems, Combustion and propulsion, Advanced atomization and sprays, Laser diagnostics for flow measurements, Multiphase flow, Renewable energy

J. Brian Jordon, Ph.D., Professor & Kenneth and Celia Carlile Chair in Materials Science (ME)

Expertise: Advanced manufacturing processes, Developing new materials with enhanced mechanical properties and tailored microstructures, Microstructure and bulk material response using state-of-the-art characterization tools and process simulations, Additive friction stir deposition, fatigue, joining, mechanical behavior

Seung Kim, Ph.D., Associate Professor (ECE)

Expertise: Photonic Biosensors, Micro- and nano- devices and systems, point-of-care diagnostics, and Integrated optics

JB Lee, Ph.D., Department Chair and Professor (ECE)

Expertise: MEMS, Sensors, Liquid metals, Biomedical devices

Linda Olafsen, Ph.D., Associate Professor (ECE) 

Expertise: Photonics, Optoelectronics, Semiconductor lasers, Materials and Devices, Thermal management

Abhendra K. Singh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (ME)

Expertise: Ceramic matrix composites, Emerging materials for hypersonic applications, Hybrid multifunctional composite structures, damage mechanics

Douglas E. Smith, Ph.D., Professor (ME)

Expertise: Simulation based design, Inverse analyses and computational biomechanics, multidisciplinary analysis and optimization, reliability-based design, polymer and composites processing, fiber orientation modeling, structural optimization, biomechanics, thermo-mechanical response of lasers and railguns

Liang Sun, Ph.D., Associate Professor (ME)

Expertise: Aerospace engineering, electrified aviation, airborne robotic systems dynamics and control

Alan Wang, Ph.D., Mearse Chair in Biological & Biomedical Engineering (ECE)

Expertise: Semiconductor materials including transparent conductive oxides, silicon photonics and plasmonics, biological materials with focus on diatom photonic crystals, micro- and nano-scale fabrication using e-beam lithography, atomic layer deposition, dry etching, and sputtering etc.

Alex Yokochi, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research & Professor (ME)

Expertise: Nanostructured materials and nanocomposites synthesis and characterization using X-ray, neutron, and electron scattering, electrochemical and thermochemical energy conversion and storage processes, chemical and biobased molecular manufacturing, separations and sensing, post-consumer waste plastics depolymerization, water and energy processing for global development and sustainability.

Dalong Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor (ME)

Expertise: Powder metallurgy, manufacturing methods based on friction stir and severe plastic deformation, materials characterization and deformation mechanisms, materials for extreme environment applications (including nuclear and fusion energy), sustainable metallurgy

Ning Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (ME)

Expertise: Multiscale computational modeling, Machine learning, Materials design, Biomaterials, Medium/high entropy alloys, Green polymer composites