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Engineering the Future with Multifunctional Materials
Multifunctional materials are poised to transform the engineering landscape by integrating advanced capabilities—such as energy harvesting, self-sensing, and self-healing—into single material systems, while maintaining or enhancing mechanical performance across multiple scales. Functioning from nanoscale interactions to macroscopic responses, these materials offer exciting opportunities for developing smarter, more resilient, and adaptive systems.
This presentation explores the multiscale mechanics of multifunctional materials, emphasizing how phenomena at the molecular level influence structural behavior at larger scales. Examples such as polymer nanocomposites, shape memory alloys, and bio-based materials will be used to highlight current advancements and the practical challenges of translating these technologies from lab-scale research to real-world applications in both civil and mechanical engineering contexts.
Bridging the gap between conventional and multifunctional systems opens new pathways for innovation in the design, monitoring, and long-term performance of engineered structures and components.
About the Speaker
Hessam Yazdani, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia
Dr. Hessam Yazdani is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of the Sustainable Infrastructure, Geotechnics, and Materials (Yazdani-SIGMa) lab at the University of Missouri. With a career that blends advanced material science with traditional civil engineering, Dr. Yazdani specializes in multifunctional composites, geotechnical engineering, machine learning-assisted materials discovery, and reliability-based optimization. His interdisciplinary research is dedicated to enhancing the sustainability and climate resilience of civil infrastructure through innovative approaches that integrate the mechanics of multifunctional materials across various length scales, from molecular interactions to large-scale structural behaviors.
Dr. Yazdani has authored and co-authored over 70 publications in books, peer-reviewed journals, and conference proceedings. His expertise and leadership in the field have earned him invitations to present at conferences and meetings across the US, Europe, and China, as well as roles on grant review committees and technical panels. His contributions to civil engineering have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and the DURIP Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
