The Behavior of Advanced Materials and Structures (BAMS) Laboratory’s research interests lie at the intersection of mechanics, materials, and computational modeling. The BAMS Lab uses the principles of continuum mechanics together with carefully-conducted experiments and novel computational approaches to develop innovative multi-physics predictive models for understanding the deformation and failure of a variety of advanced materials, from dielectric elastomers to additively manufactured soft materials. In so doing, we aim to develop robust predictive models – grounded in sound experimental data – that facilitate the design and optimization of novel materials and structures, and artfully link processing to performance.
NEWS
2023
February 28. Five members of the BAMS Lab presented their research at the 48th AIAA Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium (DCASS). Dr. Lowe chaired a session on Materials & Structures. And Josh Michonski was selected as a 2023 DCASS Best Presentation Award winner. Congratulations Josh!
Aimable Kazintwari: "An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Stretch on Permittivity in Dielectric Elastomers"
Brent Johnson: "Mechanical Characterization of High-Temperature Fluoroelastomers"
Eddie Meixner: "Sensitivity-Weighted Mesostructure Selection within a Multiscale Topology Optimization Framework"
Ethan White: "Simulation-Aided Design of Compression Specimens with Internal Voids for Accessing New States of Stress During Ductile Fracture"
Josh Michonski: "An Investigation of the Mechanics of an Ultra-Stretchable, Self-Healing, DLP 3D-Printed Hydrogel for Damage-Resistant Soft Robots"
February 17. Aimable Kazintwari presented a talk titled "An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Stretch on Permittivity in Dielectric Elastomers" at the Ohio LSAMP Alliance Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
2022
November 29. Dr. Lowe received a grant continuation award from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
November 1. The BAMS Lab warmly welcomes MS student Yatik Shah to the team. Yatik will be working on modeling the plastic deformation and ductile fracture of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V.
November 1. Dr. Lowe presented a talk “Nonlinear Snap-Through Dynamics of Internally-Pressurized Spherical Membranes Made of Photo-Cured Elastomers” at the ASME 2022 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition in Columbus, OH. He also chaired a session in the Mechanics of Soft Materials track.
October 21. Dr. Lowe as was invited (as a faculty honoree) to the Phi Sigma Rho faculty scholarship banquet as the guest of PSR sister Joanna Riss.
September 12. BAMS Lab collaborator Dr. Brent Bielefeldt (AFRL/RQVC) presented a talk (on joint work) titled “Development of Material Property Feasibility Constraints for a Multiscale Topology Optimization Framework Using Radial Basis Function Interpolations” at the ASME 2022 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems in Dearborn, MI.
September 4. Dr. Lowe and coworkers (Vasquez, Schrader, Cao, and Muratore) received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Infrastructure (MRI) award.
August 16. The BAMS Lab warmly welcomes Ethan White, Grant Eifert, and Josh Michonski to the team as undergraduate researchers. Ethan is supported through an FAA sponsored project, Grant is supported through an Air Force SBIR sponsored project, and Josh is an intern with the Polymer and Responsive Materials (Poly(RM)) Team at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RXAS).
August 15. BAMS Lab collaborator Dr. Chris Cooley (Oakland University) presented a talk (on joint work) titled “Nonlinear Vibration of Dielectric Elastomer Membranes Excited by Small Nominal Voltages with Large Fluctuations” at the ASME 2022 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference in St. Louis, MO.
July 27. Rebekah Revadelo presented a poster "Lap Shear Characterization of a Novel Self-Healing Photo-Curable Hydrogel Elastomer" at the 2022 Summer Undergraduate STEM Research Symposium at the University of Dayton. Rebekah's project is a collaboration between the BAMS Lab, UDRI AMTD, Miami University, and MIT.
July 27. Reed Shay presented a talk "A Black-Box Code for Fitting Hyper-Elastic Material Models to Mechanical Test Data" at the ISE Summer CoRPs Symposium at the University of Dayton.
July 22. Kevin Lawson defended his MS thesis titled "Exploration of Data Clustering within a Novel Multi-Scale Topology Optimization Framework." Kevin has accepted a position as a Life Methods & Mission Analysis Engineer at GE Aviation in West Chester, Ohio. Congratulations Kevin!
June 29. Dr. Lowe received the 2022 New Materials Educator Award from the Materials Division of ASEE.
June 29. A collaborative paper An Experimental Investigation of the Influence of the State of Stress on the Ductile Fracture of 2024-T351 Aluminum was published in the ASME Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology.
June 22. Dr. Lowe and BAMS Lab collaborator Dr. Chris Cooley co-organized a mini-symposium titled "Dynamics of Soft Materials and Structures" at the 19th U.S. National Congress on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Austin, TX. A big thanks to all mini-symposium participants who contributed and shared their outstanding work!
June 16. A collaborative paper Unusual Nonlinear Frequency Response in Circular Dielectric Elastomer Membranes Excited by Fluctuating Through-Thickness Voltages was published in Mechanics Research Communications.
June 7. Joseph Beckett was featured in the University of Dayton News for being awarded a prestigious NDSEG Fellowship. (He also received "Honorable Mention" in the NSF GRFP competition.) Joseph will be pursuing his graduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan this fall. Congratulations Joseph!
May 23. A collaborative paper In-Plane Nonlinear Vibration of Circular Dielectric Elastomer Membranes with Extreme Stretchability was published online in the European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids.
May 23. The BAMS Lab enthusiastically welcomes Brent Johnson and Eddie Meixner to the team as graduate students working on projects sponsored by the US Air Force and AFOSR, respectively. The BAMS Lab also warmly welcomes Aimable Kazintwari, Rebekah Revadelo, Reed Shay, Hunter Baylon, and Jeremy Ahner to the team as summer researchers. Aimable is supported through Sinclair Community College's NSF LSAMP Program, Rebekah is supported through the University of Dayton School of Engineering's SURE Program, and Reed is supported through the ISE CoRPs Program.
May 11. Joseph Beckett presented a poster "Investigating the Mechanics of a Rapidly Self-healing Photocurable Elastomer" at the 2022 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit in Honolulu, HI. Joseph's project is a collaboration between the BAMS Lab, UDRI AMTD, AFRL/RXAS, and MIT.
May 11. Joshua Michonski was awarded a NASA/OSGC Undergraduate STEM Scholarship for 2022-23. Congratulations Josh!
May 6. At the School of Engineering Awards Ceremony, senior Joseph Beckett received The Bernard F. Hollenkamp, ’39 Memorial Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Senior in Mechanical Engineering as well as the Class of 1902 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Achievement. Congratulations Joseph!
April 20. Dr. Lowe received a sub-award on an Air Force Phase II SBIR contract (Maverick Corp., SBIR lead).
April 20. Four members of the BAMS Lab presented their research at the Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium at the University of Dayton:
Kevin Lawson (talk): “Exploration of Data Clustering within a Novel Multi-Scale Topology Optimization Framework”
Joseph Beckett (talk): "Open-source Stereo Digital Image Correlation Optimized for Large Deformation Soft Materials Testing: Development and Validation"
Peter Fabe (talk): "3D Printing with Recycled Plastics: Opportunities and Challenges"
Braeden Windham (poster): "Design of Custom Mechanical Test Fixtures for Uniaxial Compression and Pure Shear Testing of Soft Materials"
April 11. Peter Fabe received a University of Dayton Graduate Student Summer Fellowship. Congratuations Peter!
April 5. BAMS Lab collaborator Dr. Chris Cooley (Oakland University) presented a talk (on joint work) titled “Voltage-Tunable Dynamic Stiffness of Dielectric Elastomer Membranes” at the 2022 WCX SAE World Congress Experience in Detroit, MI.
April 1. Joseph Beckett presented his Honors Thesis research in a talk titled "Development of a Stereo Digital Image Correlation System for Large Deformation Soft Materials Testing" at the University of Dayton Honors Student Symposium.
March 30. Joseph Beckett received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. Congratulations Joseph!
March 25. Joseph Beckett presented a virtual talk titled "Optimization and Validation of a Digital Image Correlation System for Large Deformation Soft Materials Testing" at the 2021-2022 NASA/Ohio Space Grant Consortium Annual Student Research Symposium.
March 8. Two members of the BAMS Lab presented their research at the 47th AIAA Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium. Dr. Lowe also chaired a session on Materials & Structures.
Kevin Lawson: “Exploration of Data Clustering within a Novel Multi-Scale Topology Optimization Framework”
Joseph Beckett: "Investigating the Mechanics of a Rapidly Self-healing Photo-curable Elastomer"
February 26. Peter Fabe, Joseph Beckett, and Dr. Lowe hosted a hands-on Explore Engineering session titled "How Do (3D-Printed) Things (Deform and) Break?" Attendees included two rotating 15-person groups of high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
February 24. BAMS Lab alumnus Barry Boakye, who joined the team during SU/21 as a Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) research fellow, was featured in Sinclair Community College's SSS Spring 2022 Newsletter for his Nov. 2021 conference presentation. Congratulations Barry!
January 17. Dr. Lowe began teaching a new graduate-level mechanics course, Mechanics of Soft Materials (AEE/MEE 590).