M. Ravi Shankar, PhD

Professor, Industrial Engineering Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (Courtesy)

William Kepler Whiteford Faculty Fellow

1034 Benedum Hall | 3700 O’Hara Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15261 P: 412-624-9835

ravishm@pitt.edu

The Shankar Research Group performs research in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh under the direction of Prof. M. Ravi Shankar. Our research focuses on understanding the behavior of materials over length-scales ranging from the macro to the nano, as a function of composition, thermomechanical history and microstructural design. Research interests include thermal and mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals and amorphous alloys, mechanics and property evolution in nano and micro-manufacturing processes and design of multi-functional materials.

Multifunctional Nanograined Materials

We are studying how nano-scale grain structures can demonstrate novel functional properties that accompany their enhanced mechanical properties. We are examining scalable approaches for creating such microstructures at surfaces and in bulk-forms in Al, Mg and Ti alloys and their technological implications for structural and biomedical applications. Ongoing research in our group has also focused on identifying the underlying physical phenomena that leads to the creation of nanograined materials with specific microstructural attributes from severe shear deformation.

Direct Transduction of Photonic Energy into Mechanical Work

Azobenzene-functionalized polymers can transduce light directly into mechanical work either via trans-cis isomerization or via the trans-cis-trans reorientation of the azo groups. We are examining approaches centered on design of novel compositions and mechanical designs for enhancing the efficiency of this transduction and maximizing the achievable power densities.

Hierarchical Nanostructured Surfaces

Surfaces with hierarchies composed of nano-scale structures on micro-scale features endow novel functionalities in several instructive illustrations from the natural world. A common example is the self-cleaning, superhydrophobicity of the lotus-leaf that is characterized by a fine micro-scale texture that is superimposed with dense fibrillar nanostructures. In the animal world, hierarchical structures lead to low drag in textured, self-cleaning skin of the shark, the antireflective eye of the housefly and manifest the phenomenon of structural color in birds and fishes. We are working on new direct-write approaches for the scalable manufacture of such complex hierarchies in polymeric materials for engineering applications.

Mechanics of Deformations at the Micro-Scale

Understanding the implications of the stochasticity, size-effects and constitutive properties of deformation of metals at the micrometer and sub-micrometer length-scales is critical for controlling process and product outcomes in mechanical microforming. We are working on new experimental paradigms for exploring the mechanics of deformation and microstructural consequences in microdeformation configurations using a custom-designed platform that can perform multiaxial manipulation inside an electron microscope.