Extreme Materials & Mechanics (X2M)

Humanity has an innate appetite for progress and constantly challenging the extremes. In the dynamic field of materials, the building blocks of our world, the exploration of materials for extreme performance is a critical area of study. Applying materials in extreme environments, be it in high-temperature engines, in the human body or in the energy industry presents tremendous opportunities but also challenges.

“Extreme Materials & Mechanics” research group led by Dr. Vera Popovich aims to use advanced manufacturing, novel experimental and analytical methods to explore existing materials in mechanical extremes (loading, temperature and environment) and develop new high-performance materials for such harsh applications.  Our mission is to gain fundamental knowledge of failure micromechanisms in advanced materials, while promoting education and best practices in failure control, advanced (correlative) characterization and manufacturing for the socio-economic benefits.

The group consists of the state-of-the-art multiscale mechanics laboratory and advanced manufacturing research infrastructure including top-notch fracture, fatigue and creep equipment for extreme in-situ conditions, multimaterials additive manufacturing and post-processing (thermal and surface) equipment.