Aaron P. Stebner PhD

Professor Stebner joined the Mines faculty in 2013. In addition to his full appointment in Mechanical Engineering, he also advises students through the multidisciplinary Materials Science program. He was a postdoctoral scholar of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) after earning his Ph.D. from Northwestern University and B.S. and M.S. degrees from The University of Akron. Concurrent to his PhD program, he held an appointment as a Lecturer of the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University. He serves as a board member of the ASM International Organization on Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies (SMST) and as an International Advisory Committee member of the International Conference on Martensitic Transformations (ICOMAT). His research group is also part of the joint industry-government-academia Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology (CASMART).

Professor Stebner’s research encompasses multiscale characterization and modeling of advanced behaviors exhibited by crystalline materials, such as asymmetry, anisotropy, plasticity, and phase transformations. New in-situ x-ray, synchrotron, and neutron diffraction experiments and analyses are developed and then coupled with theoretical calculations, full-field and self-consistent micromechanical models, and macroscopic finite element simulations to elucidate multiscale mechanics of advanced materials. Fundamental understanding resulting from these efforts is used to inform and advance the chemistry, processing, engineering, and design of new materials and applications, which include shape memory alloys for morphing aircraft structures and biological implants as well as core metals for use in nuclear energy containment and creating clean energy via laser fusion. His career goal is to make contributions to multiscale solid mechanics such that in 10 – 15 years, engineers have the ability to “inverse design” structural and functional materials for new technologies. In other words, they could determine the material properties based on the force and displacement constraints of an application, and then use computer software to design the proper chemistry and processing routes to make the optimal material for the job.