AAE adds professor in structures and materials
AAE added an assistant professor in structures and materials, as Dianyun Zhang joined faculty August 17.
Zhang’s broad area of research interest is in experimental characterization and computational modeling of lightweight materials, including polymer matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites and bio-inspired materials. Her research goal is to develop an Integrated Computational Materials Engineering approach by integrating physics-based and data-driven models to predict manufacturing-induced defects and the processing–microstructure–property–performance relationship of composite materials. The focus is on multi-physics process modeling, multiscale modeling methods, and progressive damage and failure analysis across different material length scales.
“As an aviation enthusiast, I am very excited about joining AAE at Purdue, where I can fuse my passion with my career,” Zhang said. “I am also very excited about the amazing facilities and resources at the Composites Manufacturing & Simulation Center, which will provide me with incredible opportunities for my research and teaching.”
Zhang will teach her first AAE course in Spring 2021. Her teaching interests include Mechanics of Composite Materials, Composites Design and Aerospace Structural Analysis.
Prior to Purdue, Zhang was an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Connecticut (2015-2020).
Zhang has Ph.D., MS and BS degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan. She also has bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.