Civil Engineering Expands Into Structural Mechanics

Jean-François Molinari earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Technology of Compiègne in 1997. He then continued his studies at the California Institute of Technology, where in 2001 he completed a doctorate in aeronautics with a specialty in applied mathematics. From 1996 to 2000, he was a research assistant in Caltech's Department of Aeronautics, and from 2000 to 2005, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. In 2005, he was appointed as a professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Cachan (France), and since 2006 has also been a professor at the École Polytechnique in Paris and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of several scientific associations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Ceramic Society, and the Metals, Minerals and Materials Society.

 

Associate professor Molinari has written and co-authored a good thirty cited publications, as well as about ten books, book chapters and international conference proceedings. In 2000, while he was at Caltech, he was awarded the Ernst E. Sechler Memorial Award in aeronautics in recognition of excellence in teaching and research.

 

His major contributions are in the area of digital modeling of complex materials systems (metallic, ceramic and composite) that occur in structural mechanics processes. Specifically, he has developed and improved models for the propagation of cohesive fractures that provide a better understanding of the phenomena of fragmentation and fissure systems on different scales, in particular at the nano level. He has also developed research in the area of contact mechanics, in order to gain a better understanding of adhesive forces within structures.

 

At the EPFL, he will develop models and simulations of phenomena that incorporate structural mechanics, solid mechanics and materials science. He will use and develop his multi-scale simulation techniques. This will allow for a generalized approach in studying the influence of microstructural defects on the behavior and performance of structures that include new materials (ceramics, metals, concrete composites). In particular, he will analyze deformations in nanocrystalline networks and study the phenomena of friction and wear at the nanotechnology level, which can directly affect the behavior of concrete structures.