Michael Frazier

The performance of materials that we observe at the macroscale originates from many small-scale processes (e.g., atomic vibrations, phase separation and grain growth, etc.). Many technological applications need extraordinary materials that satisfy exceptional demands, materials often not available in nature or achievable through chemistry. However, by imbuing a material with an internal architecture, which mimics its small-scale counterparts, the macroscale response of the emerging structured material is exquisitely tailorable for original, cross-discipline applications.

Frazier’s research focuses on developing and understanding the dynamic aspects (e.g., dissipation and nonlinearity) of these architected materials with the ultimate goal to enable new, otherwise unattainable, functionalities. Given the additional complexity of theoretical models accounting for nonlinear and multiphysics effects, and the rarity of analytical solutions, investigations of architected materials within these regimes have been sparse, representing a relatively uncharted research frontier. Frazier’s work is primarily theoretical in nature – analytical and numerical – with experimental validation completed in-house and in collaboration with experimental groups.