About me
Learn about my academic path and my future aspirations
I am a scientist with more than 15 years of experience developing pioneering computational modeling techniques for analysis and design in solid mechanics. I hold a BSc from Argentina, and both an MSc (as a Fulbright Scholar) and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA. After completing my studies, I held postdoctoral roles at UIUC and EPFL. I then joined the Mechanical Engineering faculty at TU Delft, where I am currently Associate Professor in Computational Design and Mechanics. My research focuses on developing advanced enriched finite element and topology optimization methodologies to address design challenges across biomimetic and composite materials, acoustic/elastic metamaterials, photonic and phononic crystals, and edible fracture metamaterials. I hold two patents in noise attenuation applications using acoustic/elastic metamaterials and phononic crystals, and am the lead author of the book “Fundamentals of Enriched Finite Element Methods” (Elsevier, 2023). As director of the Machine Intelligence Advances for Materials (MACHINA) lab, I also investigate the integration of machine learning into computational design.
A more personal story
I was born in San Juan, Argentina, a few days after one of the most catastrophic earthquakes struck the country. It is said that my father swiftly retrieved me from my crib just before a stack of engineering books fell upon it. Then we moved to Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia, close to Ushuaia—the so called city of the end of the world. In the island I spent my childhood, and then in 1989 the country was struck by what most people would call the biggest economic crisis of all times. The infamous hyper-inflation forced us to leave Argentina in search of a better life.
I always knew one day I would become an engineer, since my father and two uncles are engineers. In a way it was bound to happen, to the point I studied in the same university as my elders. In 2001 I obtained the degree of “Ingeniero Civil” from the Universidad Nacional de San Juan. At the end of the program I was ranked 4th among students from all eleven engineering disciplines, qualifying to become a member of the distinguished Flag Honor Guard. Afterwards I worked as a structural engineer for two years in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, before I was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a MSc degree in USA. Because of my fascination for earthquakes, I sought to deepen my knowledge on earthquake-resistant structural design.
After completing the MSc program in 2006, I immediately started my doctorate studies in a project that aimed at creating biomimetic self-healing materials. In the Autonomous Materials Systems group I then worked on the computational design of microvascular materials for self-healing and active-cooling applications. In 2009 I received the Mavis Memorial Scholarship Award for academic excellence and research accomplishments. I obtained my PhD in August 2010, and then I took a postdoctoral appointment with my thesis advisor, Prof. Philippe H. Geubelle. During this postdoctoral appointment, I had the chance to join Philippe in Switzerland, where I would spend the next three years and a half working on computational contact mechanics in a second postdoctorate program with Prof. Jean-François Molinari.
During my Master of Science studies, I developed a profound interest in enriched finite element methods, a passion that continues to captivate me to this day. My PhD program and postdoctorate positions shaped my research profile strongly on numerical methods. Today my research focuses on creating pioneering enriched finite element technology, and applying it to complex engineering problems. I have worked on the design of novel materials and structures, the damage response of complex microstructures, the analysis and design of acoustic/elastic metamaterials, phononic/photonic crystals and devices, and fracture edible metamaterials.
On method development, my past efforts revolve around the creation of enriched finite element formulations for the analysis of problems with discontinuities (for example material interfaces and cracks), which are completely decoupled from the finite element mesh. Over the years I have proposed methodologies to solve also immersed boundary (fictitious domain) problems, an enriched procedure to couple non-conforming discretizations and to solve highly nonlinear contact problems, and finally for conducting computational design by means of topology optimization. In terms of education, at TU Delft I currently teach courses on Nonlinear Mechanics and Advanced Finite Element Methods. These courses not only contain theory on cutting-edge finite element technology, but also delve in the computational aspects for a Python implementation to solve interesting academic problems.
Timeline
- 1996 – 2001
BSc in Civil (Structural) Engineering
Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina
- 2002 – 2004
Structural engineer
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
- 2004 – 2006
MSc in Civil (Structural) Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- 2006 – 2010
PhD in Civil Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- 2011 – 2012
Postdoctoral researcher in Aerospace Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- 2012 – 2014
Postdoctoral researcher in Civil Engineering
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
- 2015 – today
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
École Delft University of Technology, The Netharlands