Mechanics of Materials and Structures

The Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MOMS) program aims to support fundamental research in mechanics related to the behavior of deformable solid materials and structures under various conditions. It focuses on fostering transformative advances across experimental, theoretical, and computational mechanics methods. The program encourages proposals that contribute to the understanding of material and structural responses, including deformation, fracture, fatigue, contact, friction, nonlinear deformation, instability, collapse, and wave propagation. It is also interested in research at the intersection of materials and structures, such as meta-materials, hierarchical structures, micro-architectured, and low-dimensional materials. Additionally, the program welcomes proposals that leverage advanced computing techniques, data-driven approaches, stochastic methods for major mechanics advances, and new experimental techniques to capture extreme deformation and failure information. Proposals should emphasize the validation of these methods and approaches. Specific attention is given to proposals that address data analytics for deducing deformation or damage from extensive datasets and methods that span multiple length and time scales, possibly including multiphysics. For research focusing on buildings and civil infrastructure, the Structural and Architectural Engineering Materials (SAEM) program; for those on processing and mechanical performance, the Materials Engineering and Processing (MEP) program; for design methodologies, the Design of Engineering Material Systems (DEMS) program; and for accelerated materials discovery, the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer Our Future (DMREF) opportunity are recommended. Investigators are encouraged to submit a one-page summary before full proposal submission to ensure alignment with the MOMS program’s scope.