Alejandro Barrios earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2015 from the University of Texas at Austin. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, he received his master’s degree (2018) in materials science, as well as an engineering and a multidisciplinary certificate in mechanical properties of materials, and his PhD (2020) in mechanical engineering. During his doctoral work, he investigated fatigue crack nucleation and propagation mechanisms in nickel (Ni) cantilever microbeams, which were actuated inside an electron scanning microscope. Through his own adaptation, he was able to completely characterize the High Cycle Fatigue behavior of the Ni microbeams. Currently, he is a postdoctoral appointee at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), part of Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM. There, Barrios is working on two projects related to nanomechanics and high-throughput fatigue testing of thin films. Fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese, and currently learning Italian, he values the exchange in culture and traditions through diversity in social spheres as well as in engineering and research. He has tutored local Burmese youth in Georgia and helped Vietnamese/Afghan refugees in New Mexico. As a future faculty member, he plans to use the flipped classroom structure to promote enhanced interaction with students and encourage questions and clarifications.

Research Interests

Small-scale Mechanical Behavior of Materials