IRES: Interdisciplinary Research on Characterization of Mechanical Properties of Materials

Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond LA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The award supports undergraduate students from Southeastern Louisiana University and other southeastern EPScoR state universities for seven weeks in Japan conducting research related to characterization of mechanical properties of solid-state materials at various stages of deformation in order to better understand the mechanisms of deformation, fatigue and fracture, and its application to predictive, non-destructive evaluation. In Japan the students will work with Professor Kensuke Ichinose and other materials scientists at Tokyo Denki University (TDU). The PI and twelve students from Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Southern Mississippi and the University of South Alabama will participate in the three-year program. Student projects will focus on four research areas: application of electronic speckle-pattern interferometry (ESPI) to fast phenomena, application of ESPI to fatigue analysis, photoelastic method of minute stress analysis, and other diagnostic methods, including ultrasonic and magnetic. The students will have a one-week predeparture orientation, spend seven weeks in Japan for research at TDU, and then present their findings at a conference on their return. The program will build on an existing collaboration between the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TDU. The students will work on teams with a TDU lead researcher, a TDU graduate student, and several TDU undergraduates.