Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering- Solid Mechanics and Materials Science

Solid Mechanics and Materials Science encompasses the computational, analytical, and experimental solid mechanics, the mechanical behavior of materials and materials science, and engineering. Research projects currently conducted by faculty include fatigue crack growth, nanoindentation, mechanical behavior of hard tissues and structure-property relationships, finite elements applied to fracture mechanics, micro-mechanics of composites, modeling of composites (unidirectional, laminate and woven polymer and ceramic matrix composites), mechanics of water filtration and temperature sensitive biochemical reaction, kinematics of accurate surface feature tracking in rugged 3D terrain, effect of post-fabrication surface treatment on permeability and corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete, responses and constitutive modeling of emerging materials (nano-materials, polymers and newly developed metal alloys) over wide range of strain rates and temperatures, study of anisotropic plastic responses of metals and constitutive modeling of the observed responses, grain-size reduction using severe plastic deformation (milling and ECAP) and investigations of reduced grain-size metals, modeling and design of biomedical devices, surface modification and wear of artificial joints, structure/function relationships in aging and diseased human tissue, fracture and fatigue of biomaterials microscale specimen testing, carbon nanotube infused multi-length scale composites, and friction stir welding.

The Graduate School recommends applicants have at least a 3.0 GPA or B average when applying.
For transcripts from schools abroad, the UMBC Graduate School will accept official WES (World Education Services) ICAP Course-by-Course evaluations but note that these evaluations are not required.

Students who are unable to meet the minimum GPA standards may still be admitted to graduate study by demonstrating outstanding performance on one or more of the graduate aptitude tests or by providing letters of recommendation from evaluators who can speak to the applicant's performance as a student or in a professional capacity.

Standards for admission to a doctoral program are generally higher than those for admission to a master's program. The terms of this admission are based on specific recommendations made by the applicant's department in conjunction with the Graduate School.
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