Dr. Ankit Srivastava, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, was selected as one of the four Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Grant recipients by the executive committee of the Applied Mechanics Division (AMD) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Srivastava received his award during the AMD Honors and Award Banquet at the 2017 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) in Tampa, Florida.
This award will provide $20,000 to support Srivastava’s work on investigating microstructure-fracture correlations in multi-phase materials using in-situ scanning electron microscope experiments and microstructure-based modeling.
“The technological need of lightweight structures for weight-critical products, such as aircrafts and long-haul trucks, and to decrease emissions from automobiles calls for materials with high density-normalized strength,” Srivastava said. “The current materials with high density-normalized strength suffer from poor fracture resistance, which limits the performance, reliability and manufacturability of their components.”
As a result, the overarching goal of Srivastava’s project is to enable the design and discovery of more fracture resistant, high strength structural materials. The outcome of Srivastava's project will be presented at the 2018 ASME IMECE.