Members

Principal Investigator: Dr. Chandler Benjamin

Chandler

  • Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison 2017 (Engineering Mechanics)
  • M.S.   University of Wisconsin-Madison 2013 (Engineering Mechanics)
  • B.S.    Saginaw Valley State University 2011 (Optical Physics)

Curriculum Vitae

I have a varied background that includes Optical Physics, and Engineering Mechanics with a concentration on experimental mechanics. The research I have conducted to date has focused on the mechanical characterization of soft solid materials. In particular, I have worked with stimuli-responsive polymers.  My current research focus is in the areas of cardiovascular mechanics and the further characterization of HEMA-DMAEMA stimuli-responsive hydrogels.

Current Graduate Students: Ph.D.

 

Yalan Shu

  • PhD Candidate (PhD-Expected May 2026)
  • South China University of Technology (MS-2018)
  • B.S Yangtze University (BS-2013)

 

  • Cipriani, C.E., Shu, Y., Pentzer, E.B. and Benjamin, C.C., 2022. Viscoelastic and thixotropic characterization of paraffin/photopolymer composites for extrusion-based printing. Physics of Fluids, 34(9), p.093106.

Luc Nguyen

  • PhD Candidate (PhD-Expected May 2026)
  • Texas A&M University (BS-2021)

 

 

Studying the mechanical properties of aortic tissue is important in determining future medical action regarding both healthy and diseased conditions. Although uni-axial and bi-axial experimental testing has been previously conducted on porcine aortas, shear testing is still being preliminarily explored.

  • L. Nguyen, M. Myneni, A. A. Youssef, and Chandler C. Benjamin. Effect of Normal Stress on the Torsional Shear Response of the Porcine Descending Aorta, Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Mechanics, 2022

Krishna Kaushik Yanamundra

  • PhD Candidate (PhD-Expected May 2024)
  • Birla Institue of Technology and Science (BS-2018)

 

 

Traditionally, we have been looking at constitutive relations wherein the stress is given as a function of the kinematic variables. But philosophically, this does not align with the principle of causality. It makes more physical sense to describe the kinematics (effect) in terms of the stresses and/or their derivatives (cause). I am currently working on such models which adhere to causality to describe the non-linear behaviour of fluids (like colloidal solutions) undergoing motions with constant relative stretch history (viscometric and nearly viscometric flows). I am also studying their stability and comparing the performance of these novel models vis-a-vis their classical counterparts in describing the physical response.

 

Former Graduate Students: Ph.D.

Manoj

Manoj Myneni

  • Scientist, W.L. Gore & Associates (2022)
  • Ph.D Texas A&M (2021)
  • M.S. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2016)
  • B.S. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2012)

My research focuses on understanding the initiation and propagation of aortic dissection using theoretical and experimental methods. Theoretical investigation is intended to identify aortic geometries and inhomogeneities that have high propensity for dissection. We are also developing some non-standard experimental techniques like peeling and tearing of soft tissues to characterize the propagation of aortic dissection.

Relevant Publications:

  1. Kar, P., M. Myneni, K. Tůma, K. R. Rajagopal, and C. C. Benjamin. “Axial pulling of a neo-Hookean fiber embedded in a generalized neo-Hookean matrix.” International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics (2022): 104292.
  2. Myneni, M, Raghuveer L. S., K. R. Rajagopal, and C. C. Benjamin. “Experimental Investigation of the Anisotropic Mechanical Response of the Porcine Thoracic Aorta.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering 50, no. 4 (2022): 452-466.
  3. Myneni, M., C. C. Benjamin, and K. R. Rajagopal. “Stress concentration factors around a circular hole in two fiber reinforced materials under large deformations.” Mechanics of Materials 163 (2021): 104089.
  4. Cipriani, C. E., T. Ha, O. B. M. Defilló, M. Myneni, Y. Wang, C. C. Benjamin, J. Wang, E. B. Pentzer, and P. Wei. “Structure–processing–property relationships of 3D printed porous polymeric materials.” ACS Materials Au 1, no. 1 (2021): 69-80.
  5. Myneni, M., Rao, A., Jiang, M., Moreno, M.R., Rajagopal, K.R. and Benjamin, C.C., 2020. Segmental variations in the peel characteristics of the porcine thoracic aorta. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 48(6), pp.1751-1767.
  6. Rao, A., Myneni, M., Benjamin, C.C. and Rajagopal, K.R., 2020. High Amplitude Torsional Shear of Porcine Thoracic Aorta. In Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials & Micro-and Nanomechanics, Volume 4 (pp. 37-40). Springer, Cham.
  7. Benjamin, C.C., Myneni, M., Muliana, A. and Rajagopal, K.R., 2019. Motion of a finite composite cylindrical annulus comprised of nonlinear elastic solids subject to periodic shear. International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 113, pp.31-43.

Post-doctoral fellows

  • Parvin Karimineghlani (Polymer Scientist at Chervon Phillips)

Masters Students (Alumni)

  • Pratyusa Kar
  • Devendra Dilip Badapukar
  • Pranitha Prabhakaran
  • Akshay Rao
Undergraduate Students (current)
  • Jack Luce
  • Ben Tijerina
  • Victoria Chen
  • Nura Mogharrabi
  • Kirtan Patel
  • Yunwoo Kwon
  • Calvin Nguyen
Undergraduate students (former)
  • Dominique Lonnes (MEEN-Fall 2019)
  • Peter Meuller (MEEN-Fall 2019)
  • Justin Alpern (MEEN-Fall 2019)
  • Logan Walker (MEEN-Fall 2020)

 

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