Computation & Artificial Intelligence

Cutting across traditional discipline boundaries, our faculty have deep experience in developing methods of scientific computing. They also specialize in the application of computational approaches, including artificial intelligence, to a wide range of engineering challenges—from predictive modeling to new materials development to automation and controls.

Research Areas

Computation and AI for materials discovery and design
Computational and AI for fluid and solid mechanics
Digital materials and manufacturing
Finite element methods
Molecular dynamics modeling
First-principles quantum materials simulation
Model predictive control
Nonlinear dynamics
Scientific computing

Major Centers & Initiatives

Externally funded research centers and laboratory groups working in this topic area include:

Related Study Opportunities

PhD

Specializations include:

Master of Science (MS) or Master of Engineering (MEng)

Concentrations include:

Highlights

More MEMS research news

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Writing New Recipes for High-Performance Materials

Duke materials scientists and engineers deploy AI and other digital tools to accelerate development of new materials to harvest energy, heal the body and more

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Strengthened by Chaos, New Super-Hard Materials Will Stir Steel Together

A US Department of Defense project led by Duke will create AI tools to design recipes for new materials tailored to super-hard, high-temperature applications

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Filling an AI and Materials Science Training Gap

Duke University awarded $3 million to develop a graduate training program at the nexus of artificial intelligence and materials science

Associated Faculty

Wilkins Aquino

Anderson-Rupp Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Computational mechanics, finite element methods, computational inverse problems and their applications in engineering and biomedicine, scientific computing, computational acoustics and acoustics-structure interaction, coupled chemo-mechanics (e.g., electrochemistry-mechanics).

Gaurav Arya

Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Molecular modeling, molecular simulations, statistical mechanics, coarse-graining, machine learning, polymer and colloidal physics, polymer-nanoparticle composites, chromatin biophysics, DNA nanotechnology, viral DNA packaging, single-molecule force spectroscopy, nanoscale...

Volker Blum

Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Computational predictions and understanding of new materials related to energy and electronics, as well as molecular structure and spectroscopies, based on the "first principles" of quantum mechanics. Much of this work is directly connected to ongoing developments of new...

Leila Bridgeman

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Robust and optimal control, linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), model predictive control (MPC), delayed systems, input-output stability, passivity.

L. Catherine Brinson

Sharon C. and Harold L. Yoh, III Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Study of advanced material systems and developing new methods to characterize and to model material behavior. Her lab’s research objective is to characterize and model advanced materials systems, at scales spanning the range of molecular interactions, micromechanical and...

Stefano Curtarolo

Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence Materials Science; Autonomous Materials Design; Computational materials science; High-Entropy Disordered Systems; Materials for Energy Applications; Materials for Aerospace Applications. Prof. Curtarolo multidisciplinary research makes use of state-of-the...

Olivier Delaire

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Olivier Delaire investigates atomic dynamics in materials, focusing on problems at the interface of Materials Science, Physics and Chemistry. His research group utilizes a range of experimental and computational approaches, including neutron and x-ray scattering techniques,...

John Everett Dolbow

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Modeling quasi-static and dynamic fracture of structural components, the evolution of interfaces with nonlinear constitutive laws, and developing models for stimulus-responsive hydrogels

Earl H. Dowell

William Holland Hall Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Aeroelasticity, acoustics, nonlinear dynamics, structural dynamics, and unsteady aerodynamics.

Ken Gall

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Materials science, mechanical properties, metals and polymers. Specialties: Shape memory materials, biomaterials, 3D printing.

Kenneth C. Hall

Julian Francis Abele Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Unsteady aerodynamics, structural dynamics, and aeroelasticity of turbomachinery and aerospace vehicles. Novel approaches to modeling complex physical phenomena using computational fluid dynamics. Optimization and sensitivity analysis. Fluid dynamics of animal propulsion.

Laurens E. Howle

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Hydroelastic modeling of deformable structures, transport in thermal and chemical systems, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, nonlinear and complex systems, heat and mass transport in biological systems, stability of fluid motions, machine learning, data mining,...

Genevieve Lipp

Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Xiaoyue Ni

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Flexible electronics, precision measurement, non-destructive testing, deformation physics of random media, mechanical metamaterials, robotic materials and smart structures, machine learning

Michael Rubinstein

Aleksandar S. Vesic Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Polymer theory and computer simulations

Sophia Santillan

Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Engineering education, nonlinear systems, structural mechanics and numerical methods.

Johann Guilleminot

Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Interests: Computational mechanics, mechanics of heterogeneous materials, molecular dynamics simulations and atomistic-to-continuum coupling, stochastic solvers, statistical inverse problem and model validation, stochastic analysis, uncertainty quantification in science and engineering

Amanda Randles

Alfred Winborne and Victoria Stover Mordecai Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Research Interests: Biomedical simulation and high-performance computing

Guglielmo Scovazzi

Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Interests: Finite element methods, computational fluid and solid mechanics, multiphase porous media flows, computational methods for fluid and solid materials under extreme load conditions, turbulent flow computations, instability phenomena.

Thomas P. Witelski

Professor in the Department of Mathematics

Research Interests: My primary area of expertise is the solution of nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations via perturbation methods. Using asymptotics along with a mixture of other applied mathematical techniques in analysis and scientific computing I study a broad range of...

Tod A. Laursen

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Engineering computing and engineering science, continuum mechanics, engineering analysis, finite element methods, and the use of finite element methods for the solution of nonlinear problems, with a special interest in the modeling of physical systems exhibiting contact and...