Welcome to the academic profile of Dr. Faizan Hijazi, a Postdoctoral Fellow who joined Prof. Jaafar El-Awady’s group in January 2024 within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University. He received a BS (2015) in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar, India and MS (2018) and PhD (2024) in Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, India. Faizan was also honored as a Prime Minister’s Research Fellow (PMRF) from 2018 to 2023.

During his tenure at IISc with Profs. Praveen Kumar and Vikram Jayaram, his research focused on the development of high-throughput cantilever bending, coupled with digital image correlation (DIC), as a viable creep testing method. He validated the technique on many industrial alloy systems including thermal power plant steels and Ti- alloys.

His current research delves into the intricate realm of micro-plasticity in metals and their alloys. At the forefront of materials science, his work unveils the nuanced physics underlying micro-plasticity phenomena, a critical aspect often overlooked in traditional analyses. The micro-plasticity is revealed to manifest significantly earlier than the conventional experimental yield point, constituting a pivotal phase in the deformation process. This phase is characterized by the discrete activity of slip events at the micro-scale, each contributing to the overall deformation behavior.

Central to Dr. Hijazi's pioneering approach is the utilization of advanced detectors capable of precise and high-rate data acquisition. By harnessing these cutting-edge tools, he endeavors to capture and elucidate the intricacies of each micro-scale slip event. Through meticulous correlation and analysis, he seeks to unravel the underlying mechanisms governing micro-plasticity, thereby advancing our understanding of materials behavior at the smallest scales.