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Welcome to Advanced STRuctures and Optimization (ASTRO) Lab!
Welcome to Advanced STRuctures and Optimization (ASTRO) Lab!
We are interested in computational problems (multi-scale modeling, optimization, uncertainty quantification, model reduction, machine learning) for different materials (metals, metallic alloys, composites, meta-materials) in multiple length scales ranging from micro-scale to component-level in moderate to extreme environments, with a special focus on design.
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Recent Highlights
Recent Highlights
Submit an abstract to our minisymposium at WCCM-ECCOMAS 2026
Waris, Maruf, and Dr. Acar are organizing a minisymposium at the World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM-ECCOMAS 2026): MS309 - Data-Driven Design and Optimization of Architected and Adaptive Materials Across Scales.
This minisymposium focuses on data-driven approaches to the design and optimization of architected and adaptive materials across scales, integrating AI/ML with physics-based modeling to accelerate material discovery, property prediction, and performance optimization.
More information about our minisymposium is available here: MS309 - Data-Driven Design and Optimization of Architected and Adaptive Materials Across Scales
Saltuk presented at the ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM 2025)
The presentation, titled "Computational and Data-Driven Design of Non-Periodic and Nature-Inspired Mechanical Metamaterials ", is co-authored by Sheng Liu, Ender Eger, Mohamed Elleithy, and Dr. Acar.
Dr. Acar delivered the keynote talk at the 4th International Workshop on Plasticity, Damage and Fracture of Engineering Materials (IWPDF 2025)
ASTRO Lab is a collaborator/partner in recent VT Advanced Manufacturing efforts
ASTRO Lab is among the founding cohorts of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (VT-MADE) and a collaborator on an NSF Future Manufacturing grant to advance robotic additive manufacturing with digital twins.
Maruf has been awarded a Pratt Fellowship in Fall 2025
(Photo credits Alex Parrish)
Congratulations to Maruf for the Pratt Fellowship!
Maruf has been awarded a Pratt Fellowship from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering in support of his ongoing PhD studies.
Also in Department News: https://me.vt.edu/news/briefs/billah-pratt-fellow-2025.html
Learn about "Shape-to-Music" 🎶🎶🎶
Turn metamaterials into music! 🎶 Undergraduate researchers Sofia Cassara and Buminhan Sansa have created musical tools that transform different metamaterial designs into sound. Try our demo website and stay tuned for exciting updates on Shape-to-Music! (Special thanks to Saltuk Yildiz for his work on modeling spinodal metamaterials and Waris Khan for his help in creating the website!)
Maruf receiving the Best Paper Award at AIAA SciTech 2025 (Photo by David Becker for AIAA).
Maruf has won the Lockheed Martin Best Paper Award in Structures at AIAA SciTech 2025.
Our paper, “Design of Functionally Graded Inconel 718 Alloy Structures by Developing Material Property Closures,” was given the top honor for a student paper in the area of structures.
Also in Department News: https://me.vt.edu/news/briefs/billah-best-paper-aiaa-2025.html
Mohamed Elleithy, Ender Eger, Maruf Billah, and Waris Khan (Photo credits Alex Parrish)
We Have Published An Invited Review Article on Uncertainty Quantification
ASTRO Lab Over the Years
ASTRO Lab at AIAA SciTech 2025 in Orlando, FL. From left to right: Ender Eger, Waris Khan, Saltuk Yildiz, and Md Maruf Billah.
ASTRO Lab dinner in October 2024. From left to right, clock-wise direction: Buminhan Sansa, Dr. Kubra Sekmen, Dr. Pinar Acar, Sofia Cassara, Kuang Kuang, Naser Almutairi, Mohamed Elleithy, Ender Eger, Saltuk Yildiz, Waris Khan, and Md Maruf Billah.
ASTRO Lab in October 2023. From left to right: Ender Eger, Kuang Kuang, Mohamed Elleithy, Matthew Long, Waris Khan, Md Maruf Billah, Sheng Liu, and Dr. Pinar Acar
Our team from the Spring 2024 group dinner. We celebrated the graduations of Dr. Sheng Liu and Matthew Long!
Our team (from left to right: Mohamed Elleithy, Matthew Long, Ender Eger, and Sheng Liu) has presented our research projects at AIAA SciTech 2024 in Orlando, FL.
Our team (Sheng Liu, Mahmudul Hasan, Mohamed Elleithy, Arul Senthilnathan, Rick Catania, Kiara McMillan, Henry Zhao, and Dr. Pinar Acar) are standing in front of the R-R Trent 1000 Turbofan Engine in Goodwin Hall (photo credits: Alex Parish, February 2022).
Address
Address
Advanced STRuctures and Optimization (ASTRO) Lab
Department of Mechanical Engineering
1145 Perry Street, Durham Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24061
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