At the Advanced Mechanics and Materials Group, our research is at the intersection of mechanics and materials science. We study the structure-processing-property correlation in advanced materials like aerospace composites and nanomaterials using experimental mechanics methods and computational approaches like finite element, lattice beam models and molecular dynamics simulations.
Another focus area is the modeling of active particles (pedestrians, bacteria, etc.). We adapt molecular dynamics-based approaches to pedestrian movement and apply them to evaluate movement and contacts among passengers during air travel. This has applications in formulating air travel-related policies for minimizing infection transmission. We are a part of the multi-university Project VIPRA (Viral Infection Propagation Through Air-Travel), which studies infection modeling using pedestrian movement, phylogeography and parallel computing.
Our group is housed in the Composites Laboratory and Structures Laboratory in the Lehman Building and the new MicaPlex, and uses the experimental capabilities of both labs. We also use the computational facilities of our in-house Rigel cluster and external computing clusters like the Stampede supercomputer (#7 in the world) and the National Center for Supercomputing Application’s (NCSA) Blue Waters supercomputer. Composite lab facilities include space for wet lay-up and prepreg assembly, vacuum bagging facilities and an oven for composites curing. The lab also has large work tables for composite lay-up, a wet-saw for cutting specimens from larger panels, materials storage freezers and a down-draft table with air filtering capabilities for specimen sanding.
Dr. Namilae's research has been funded by the NSF, NIH, NASA and DOT, as well as internally by Embry‑Riddle. Our work has been featured in media, including The Economist, the NSF media website and more.
News and Updates
- November 2021: Congratulations to Sandeep Chava on successfully defending their Ph.D. thesis.
- August 2021: Dr. Namilae named PI for new NIH-NLM grant. This is the first NIH grant awarded to Embry‑Riddle.
- May 2021: Dr. Namilae was awarded Embry‑Riddle's College of Engineering Researcher of the Year.
- March 2021: Several new journal papers from the group in Spring 2021! Sandeep in Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing; Samarth in Applied Composite Materials; Sabique in IET Intelligent Transportation Systems; Pierrot in IISc Journal; Audrey in ASME JEMT; and a couple of other papers with collaborators.
- June 2020: Several new journal papers from the group in Fall 2020! Audrey in Nanotechnology, Smart Materials and Structures; Sabique in PLOS One; Nengda in ASME JEMT; Yachna in Composite Communications; and Pierrot in PLOS One.
- June 2020: Received NSF funding for "Nanoscale Design of Interfacial Kinematics in Composite Manufacturing."
- May 2020: Received NSF funding for "Leveraging New Data Sources To Analyze the Risk of COVID-19 in Crowded Locations."
- February 2020: Dr. Namilae co-chairs the NSF-funded workshop "Pedestrian Dynamics and Epidemic Modeling."
- February 2020: New Funding from DOT for "Discrete Models for Epidemic Spread."
- February 2020: New Funding from DOT for "Modeling Secondary Crashes Using Point-Process Methods."
- December 2019: Congratulations to Pierrot Derjany on successfully defending their Ph.D. thesis.
- December 2019: Congratulations to Audrey Gbaguidi on successfully defending their Ph.D. thesis.
- November 2019: Received NSF funding for "Cyberinfrastructure for Pedestrian Dynamics-Based Analysis of Infection Propagation Through Air Travel."
- December 2017: Dr. Namilae appeared on Channel 9 news. .
- December 2017: Congratulations to Pierrot Derjany on successfully completing their Ph.D. preliminary.
- August 2017: Congratulations to Audrey Gbaguidi on successfully completing their Ph.D. preliminary.
- August. 2017: Our work on infection transmission in airplanes is featured in several international newspapers and websites, including , the and the .
- August 2017: Congratulations to Sandeep Chava for joining the team as a new Ph.D. student starting this Fall 2017. Welcome back, Sandeep!
- August 2017: Audrey Gbaguidi's first journal paper appeared in ASME JEMT. Congratulations!
- July 2017: Congratulations to Pierrot Derjany for publishing his first journal paper in Phys Rev E.
Learn More About the Research Group
- Chava, S.* and Namilae, S. “In-Situ Investigation of the Kinematics of Ply Interfaces During Composite Manufacturing.” In review.
- Gbaguidi, A.*, Madiyar, F., Kim, D. and Namilae, S. “Multifunctional Inkjet Printed Sensors for MMOD Impact Detection.” Smart Materials and Structures, 2020.
- Gbaguidi, A.*, Namilae, S. and Kim, D. “A Three-Dimensional Monte Carlo Model for the Synergistic Effect of Nanofillers inHybrid CNT-GNP Nanocomposites.” Nanotechnology 31 (25), 255704.
- Islam, S.*, Namilae, S., Prazenica, R. and Liu, D. “Fuel Shortages During Hurricanes: Epidemiological Modeling and Optimal Control." PLOS One, Accepted 15 (4), e0229957, 2020.
- Gola, Y.*, Kim, D. and Namilae S. “Piezoresistive Nanocomposites for Sensing MMOD Impact Damage in Inflatable Space.” Composites Communications 100375, 2020.
- Sadeghi, M., Islam, T., Srinivasan, A. and Namilae, S. "Constrained Linear Movement Model (CALM): Simulation of Passenger Movement in Airplanes." PLOS One, 15(3), e0229690, 2020.
- Derjany, P.*, Namilae, S., Liu, D. and Srnivasan, A. “Multiscale Model for Optimal Design of Pedestrian Queues To Mitigate Infectious Disease Spread." PLOS One, Accepted.
- Jiang. N.*, Namilae, S. and Unnikrishnan, V. “Biofidelic Piezoresistive Sandwich Composites.” ASME Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology, 142 1, 2020.
- Chen, J., Liu, D., Namilae, S., Lee, S., Thropp, J. and Seong, Y. “Effect of Exit Doors and Number of Passengers on Airport Evacuation Efficiency Using Agent-Based Simulation.” International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerospace, 6(5), 3, 2019.
- S., Chandra, U., Srinivasan, A. and Chandra, N. “Study of Interfacial Behavior of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites Using Parallel Molecular Dynamics Simulations.” Computer Modeling in Engineering and Sciences, 22(3), 189-202, March 2007.
- (Featured among top 25 downloaded articles in the journal, 2006).
- (Featured among top 10 downloaded articles in the journal, 2006, 2007 and 2008).
- Namilae, S. "Multiscale Model for Pedestrian and Infection Dynamics During Air Travel." International Conference for Risk Analysis 2017 Chicago (Invited Presentation).
- Derjany, P., Namilae, S., Mubayi, A. Scotch, M. and Srinivasan, A. "Molecular Dynamics Like Numerical Approach for Studying Infection Propagation." International Conference of Composites Engineering ICCE, 2017.
- Namilae, S., Li, J., Jiang, N. and Zhao, Y. "Effect of Matrix Mechanical Behavior and Filler Morphology on the Piezoresistivity of Hybrid Nanocomposites." International Conference of Composites Engineering ICCE, 2017.
- Derjany, P., Namilae, S., Mubayi, A., Scotch, M. and Srinivasan, A." Multiscale Pedestrian Movement - Infection Dynamics Model for Transportation Hubs." Transportation Research Forum, Chicago, 2017.
- Gbagaudi, A., Kim, D. and Namilae, S. "Dynamic Piezoresistive Response of Hybrid Nanocomposite." SPIE Conference 2017.
- Muhammad, A., Gbagaudi, A., Namilae, S. and Kim, D. "Structural Health Monitoring of Inflatable Structures for MMOD Impacts." SPIE Conference 2017.
- Gbagaudi, A., Namilae, S. and Kim, D. "Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Piezoresistive Behavior of Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Sheet – Graphene Nanocomposites." AIAA Scitech, 2017.
- Chava, S., Choudhary, S. and Namilae, S. "Delamination Detection in Carbon Fiber Composites Using Piezoresistive Nanocomposites." AIAA Scitech, 2017.
- Srinivasan, A., Sudheer, C.D. and Namilae, S. "Optimizing Massively Parallel Simulations of Infection Spread Through Air Travel for Policy Analysis." Cluster, Cloud and Grid Computing (CCGrid), 2016 16th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on. IEEE, 2016.
- Namilae, S., Srinivasan, S., Mubayi, A. and Scotch, M. "Self-Propelled Pedestrian Dynamics Model for Studying Infectious Disease Propagation During Air Travel." Travel a Public Health Conference, San Jose, July 2016.
- Scotch, M., Beard, R., Pahle, R., Mubayi, A., Namilae, S. and Srinivasan, A. "Combining Human Movement Models With Phylogeography for Airplane Policy Options During Ebola Outbreaks." 13th International Conference on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Antwerp, Belgium, May 2016.
- Li, J. and Namilae, S. "Nanotube Sheet - Graphite Hybrid Nanocomposite for Damage Detection." TMS Conference, Feb 201.
- Namilae, S. and Minguet, P. "Fracture Process Zone Length Using Cohesive Zone Models." Boeing Technical Excellence Conference, St Louis, June 2011.
- Nicholson, D.M., Namilae, S., Radhakrishnan, B. and Kulkarni, N.S. "Modeling Electron Transport in Copper Interconnect Microstructures." IEEE 2007 International Interconnect Technology Conference, Burlingame, CA.
- Namilae, S., Radhakrishnan, B. and Sharma, G.B., "Atomic Simulations of Interfacial Sliding in Amorphous Carbon Nano-Composites." TMS Annual Meeting, Feb 2007.
- Namilae, S., Radhakrishnan, B. and Sharma, G.B., "Stress-Assisted Grain Boundary Migration in Flat Grain Boundaries." TMS Annual Meeting, Feb 2007.
- Namilae, S. and Chandra, N. "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Interfaces in Nanocomposites." International Conference of Plasticity, Kuaii, Hawaii, Jan 2005.
- Chandra, N. and Namilae, S. "Mechanics of Atomic Scale Interfaces in Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites." Proceedings of the 2004 International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Madeira, Portugal, 26-29 July ‘04, Advances in Computational and Experimental Engineering and Science, Ed., SN Atluri and AJB Tadeu, ISBN 0-9657001-6-X , pp 351-356, 2004.
- Namilae, S. and Chandra, N. "Three Level Hierarchical Model To Incorporate Interface Effects in Carbon Nanotube-Based Composites." Proceedings of SECTAM XXII, Developments in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, edited by Hassan Mahfuz and Mahesh V Hosur, ISBN 0-615-12639-1, pp 33-41, 2004.
- Chandra, N., Namilae, S. and Srinivasan, A. "Linking Atomistic and Continuum Mechanics Using Multi-Scale Models." Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Industrial Forming Processes (Numiform 2004), AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 712, Issue 1, pp 1571-1576, June 13-17, Columbus, OH, 2004.
- Naveen, M., Namilae, S., Shet C. and Chandra, N. "Phase Space Distribution of Carbon Nanotubes in a Constant Temperature Molecular Dynamics Simulations." Proceedings of SECTAM XXII, Developments in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, edited by Hassan Mahfuz and Mahesh V. Hosur, ISBN 0-615-12639-1, pp 1-11, 2004.
- Kohle, J., Chandra, U., Namilae, S., Srinivasan A. and Chandra, N. "Parallelization of Molecular Dynamics for Modeling Interface Properties of Carbon Nanotube Based Composites." Proceedings of SECTAM XXII, Developments in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, edited by Hassan Mahfuz and Mahesh V Hosur, ISBN 0-615-12639-1, pp 23-32, 2004.
- Chandra, N. and Namilae, S. "Multi-Scale Modeling of Nanocrystalline Materials International Conference of Superplasticity in Advanced Materials, September 2003.
- Chandra, N., Namilae, S. and Shet, C. "Mechanics of Defects at Nanoscale." 16th U.S. Army Symposium on Solid Mechanics, Charleston, SC, May 2003.
- Chandra, N. and Namilae, S. "Computational Methodologies To Link Atomistic and Continuum Scales in the Design of Nanoscale Systems." AIAA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Atlanta, GA, September 2002.
- Namilae, S. and Chandra, N. "Application of Asymptotic Homogenization to Atomic Scale." 14th U.S. National Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Blacksburg, VA, June 2002.
- Namilae, S., Chandra N. and Neih, T.G. "Atomistic Simulation of Effect of Trace Elements on Grain Boundaries of Aluminum." International Conference of Superplasticity in Advanced Materials, August 2000.
Development and testing of nanocomposites for strain and space debris-sensing applications.
Funding: NASA SBIR (Completed)
In-situ characterization of composite interfaces.
Funding: NSF-AM
Monte Carlo models of hybrid networks to optimize microstructures for synergy between fillers of different shapes.
Funding: NASA SBIR
Using epidemiological models for fuel shortages during hurricane evacuation and point-process models for secondary crashes.
Funding: DOT UTC
Combining pedestrian movement with stochastic infection transmission models for studying disease spread during air travel.
Funding: NSF OAC, NIH-NLM
Leadership
Dr. Sirish Namliae, Professor
Dr. Namilae joined the Aerospace Engineering department in 2014 after spending 10 years in the aerospace industry (Boeing) and at the Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). He earned a master’s degree in Materials Science from the Indian Institute of Science and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University. Subsequently, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
At Boeing, he worked in airframe structure analysis on several programs, like the 787-8, 787-9 and 777-9X, as well as rotorcraft programs and other product development. He was the structure's focal point for main landing gear doors in multiple aircraft, and he also served as the associate editor (Structures) for the company's internal journal, Boeing Technical Journal. He also taught undergraduate engineering courses at Drexel University as an adjunct faculty. He has published over 100 journal and conference papers.
Dr. Namilae’s specialization is in the areas of solid mechanics and materials science. His current research interests are in the computational modeling of pedestrian particles, multiscale modeling, and the manufacturing of aerospace composites and nanocomposites. On a personal note, he is a cycling enthusiast.
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Current Students
- Sandeep Chava (Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Samarth Motagi (Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Yuxuan Wu (Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Deepak Kumar (Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Martiana Jani (M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Bradley Rogan (M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering)
- Sultan Stewart (M.Sc. Aerospace Engineering)
Alumni
- Audrey Gbaguidi (Ph.D., 2020)
- Pierrot Derjany (Ph.D., 2020)
- Sabique Islam (M.S., 2020)
- Samarth Motagi (M.S., 2020)
- Nengda Jiang (M.S., 2019)
- Yachna Gola (M.S., 2019)
- Anees Mohammad (M.S., 2019)
Associated Labs & Facilities
- Daytona Beach College of Engineering
- Daytona Beach Campus
- A research lab focused on advanced composite materials.
- Daytona Beach College of Engineering
- Daytona Beach Campus
- The Structures Research Lab is dedicated to pioneering the future of research by supporting advancements in smart materials and structures, as well as driving innovation in intelligent transducers, advanced engineering systems and cutting-edge structural evaluation methodologies.
Related Resources
Contact Us
Dr. Sirish NamilaeProfessor and Ph.D. Program Coordinator
Department of Aerospace Engineering