Faculty

Julia R. Greer

Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering; Fletcher Jones Foundation Director of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute

Degrees and Appointments

B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997; M.S., Stanford University, 2000; Ph.D., Stanford University, 2005. Assistant Professor, Caltech, 2007-13; Professor, 2013-19; Mettler Professor, 2019-; Fletcher Jones Foundation Director, 2019-.

Research Overview

Creation of extremely strong yet ultra-light materials can be achieved by capitalizing on the hi­e­r­a­­r­chical design of 3-dimensional nano-lattices. Such structural meta-materials exhibit superior thermo­mechanical pro­­­per­­ties at ex­tre­me­ly low mass densities (lighter than aerogels), making these solid foams ideal for many scientific and tech­no­lo­gi­cal applications, especially in the medical field. The medical research thrusts in the Greer group span from biomimicking to creating nanostructured 3-dimensional scaffolds for cell growth to body-compatible batteries to power devices like pacemakers. A new pursuit in her group is to investigate the mechanical properties of trabecular bone, focusing on the effects of anisotropy on fracture and deformation behavior with the goal of creating more resilient artificial bones.

List of Research Areas

nano-scale phenomena, mechanical properties, in-situ deformation, nano-fabrication

MedE News about Julia R. Greer

Knots Smaller Than Human Hair Make Materials Unusually Tough »

New Process Allows 3-D Printing of Microscale Metallic Parts »

Emerging Metal 3D Printing Technology from Caltech: Hydrogel Infusion »

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