Stavros Gaitanaros received his PhD in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014 working at the Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures and Materials. He then joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Laboratory for Computational Biology and Biophysics. In 2015 he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Johns Hopkins University where he leads the Extreme Mechanics of Architected Materials group and is also affiliated with the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute. His work has earned him several accolades, including the IUTAM Bureau Prize for a Young Investigator in Solid Mechanics in 2016.

Education

2014      Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics, University of Texas at Austin

2007      Diploma & M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, University of Thessaly, Greece

Experience

08/2015 – present
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

05/2014 – 07/2015
Postdoctoral Associate, Laboratory for Computational Biology and Biophysics, MIT

09/2012 – 05/2014
Assistant Instructor, Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, Univ. of Texas at Austin

09/2007 – 09/2012
Research Assistant, Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures and Materials, Univ. of Texas at Austin

09/2004 – 02/2007
Research Assistant, System Dynamics Laboratory, University of Thessaly

Research Areas

Mechanics of Architected Materials
Large Deformations and Structural Stability
Shock Formation and Impact Dynamics
Structural DNA Nanotechnology

Selected Honors – Awards

2016      IUTAM Bureau Prize in Solid Mechanics

2013      “Highly Commended”, Graduate Student Paper Competition
Society of Engineering Science 50^th Annual Technical Meeting

2012      3^rd place award, Best Student Pape, Applied Mechanics Division (ASME)
International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, TX

2012      Haythornthwaite Foundation Travel Award

2012      Max L. Williams Endowed Fellowship in Mechanics of Solids, Structures, and Materials
The University of Texas at Austin

Selected Publications

Gaitanaros S., Kyriakides S., Kraynik A.M. (2012) “On the crushing response of random open-cell foams”, International Journal of Solids and Structures 49, 2733-2743.

Barnes A.T., Ravi-Chandar K., Kyriakides S., Gaitanaros S. (2014) “Dynamic crushing of aluminum foams Part I – Experiments”, International Journal of Solids and Structures 51, 1631-1645.

Gaitanaros S., Kyriakides S. (2014) “Dynamic crushing of aluminum foams Part II – Analysis”, International Journal of Solids and Structures 51, 1646-1661.

Gaitanaros S., Kyriakides S. (2015) “On the effect of relative density on the crushing and energy absorption of open cell foams under impact”, International Journal of Impact Engineering 82, 3-13.

Wang P., Gaitanaros S., Lee S., Bathe M., Shih W.M., Ke Y. “Programming self-assembly of two-dimensional DNA origami lattices and plasmonic metamaterials”, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2016)