Coming to Canada from

Washington University, United States

Research involves

Investigating the influence of nano- and micro-scale features on the properties of crystalline solids and complex fluids.

Research relevance

Research will provide physically meaningful analytical and computational models for the design and synthesis of advanced engineering materials with optimal properties.

Designing Better Engineering Materials

The properties of crystalline solids (solids that have a regular, repeating structure of particles) and complex fluids (mixtures that exist between two states of matter) are strongly influenced by their nano- and micro-scale features. For example, the boundaries separating the grains of a polycrystal serve as barriers that keep defects from propagating between grains. When the grain size becomes small enough, the macro-scale effect is that the polycrystal becomes tougher.

To ensure that engineering materials such as those used in major industries are built to be as strong and stable as possible, researchers need to study the defects in the properties of these crystalline solids. The design and synthesis of such materials hinges on our ability to control how the small-scale features of these properties evolve during the material’s construction, and to ensure their later stability.

Dr. Eliot Fried, Canada Research Chair in Interfacial and Defect Mechanics, will head a research team whose work will lead to the development and analysis of theories for various strategically important classes of materials, including polycrystalline solids made up of nano-scale grains, thin-alloy films grown by the ballistic bombardment of a substrate by atoms, coatings patterned at the nano-scale, and liquid crystals.

Fried’s research will directly benefit the Canadian mining and materials, biotechnology, and aerospace industries by providing tools for creating materials with superior properties.