Roberto Ballarini Ph.D. Leonard Case Jr. Professor of Engineering Professor of Civil Engineering, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering  Office: 205 Bingham  Phone: (216) 368-2963  FAX: (216) 368-5229  Email: roberto.ballarini@case.edu

Professor Ballarini's resume

PRIMARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

• Solid Mechanics
• Structural Mechanics
• Mechanics Education

Professor Ballarini is interested in developing and applying theoretical and experimental techniques that can be used to characterize the response of materials to mechanical, thermal, and environmental loads. He is particularly interested in formulating analytical and numerical models for characterizing fatigue and fracture of materials and structures. His multidisciplinary research, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, NASA, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the State of Ohio, has been applied to problems arising in civil engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, materials science, electronics, and prosthetic design. He has consulted for industry and federal agencies, including General Electric and the United States Air Force. His current activities focus on the mechanics of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), bioinspired design of composite structures, and the mechanics of biological tissues. Professor Ballarini teaches courses in mechanics, strength of materials, advanced theory of elasticity, fracture mechanics, and plasticity theory. As former chair of the ASCE Elasticity Committee, he served as associate editor of Journal of Engineering Mechanics. He is a member of the American Academy of Mechanics, Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon and Sigma Xi.

Video clips and photographs of recent research results in MEMS and bioinspired design can be found at the end of this webpage.

EDUCATION

• Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering
• Northwestern University - 1985
• Master of Science, Civil Engineering
• Northwestern University - 1981
• Bachelor of Engineering, Civil Engineering
• City College of New York, 1980

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Leonard Case Jr. Professorship in Engineering, 2004-present.
• NASA Group Achievement Award (as part of the Glennan Microsystems Initiative Technical Team), 2004
• Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Nominee, 2003.
• John S. Diekhoff Award for Distinguished Graduate Teaching, 2000.
• Materials Testing Services Visiting Professor of Geomechanics, University of Minnesota Civil Engineering Department, Spring 1995.
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Visiting Professor of Mathematical Physics, Universita di Pisa, Istituto di Scienza delle Costruzioni, Summer 1995.
• Visiting Professor, Politecnico di Torino Structural Engineering Department, Summer 1990.
• Award from the Hewlett Initiative for Undergraduate Teaching for Senior Faculty, Fall 1993.
• Nominated for the Undergraduate Student Government Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, Spring 1993.
• Walter P. Murphy Fellowship, Northwestern University, 1980-1982.
• General Electric Fellowship, Northwestern University, 1984.
• American Academy of Mechanics
• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
• Tau Beta Pi - The Engineering Honor Society
• Chi Epsilon Honor Society

SELECTED REFEREED PUBLICATIONS; FOR COMPLETE LIST REFER TO RESUME ABOVE

(Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows  listed in bold italics)

R. Ballarini, L. Chen and M. Grigoriu, “Crack Propagation in a Material with Random Toughness,” International Journal of Fracture, Vol 125, pp. 353-369, 2004. (ijf-reprint.pdf)

S. Kamat, H. Kessler, R. Ballarini, A.H. Heuer, “Fracture mechanisms of the Strombus gigas conch shell: II Micromechanics analyses of multiple cracking and large scale crack bridging,” Acta Materialia, Vol. 52, pp. 2395-2406, 2004. (acta-reprint.pdf)

H. Kahn, R. Ballarini and A.H. Heuer, “Dynamic Fatigue of Silicon,” Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Vol. 8, pp. 71-76, 2004. (current-opinion-reprint.pdf)

Y. Wang and R. Ballarini, “A Long Crack Penetrating a Circular Inhomogeneity,” Meccanica (special issue in honor of Professor Piero Villaggio), Vol. 38, pp. 579-593, 2003.

H. Kahn, R. Ballarini, J. Bellante and A.H. Heuer, "Fatigue Failure in Polysilicon Not Due to Simple Stress Corrosion Cracking," Science, Vol. 298, November 8, 2002, pp. 1215-1218.(science-reprint.pdf)

S. Kamat, X. Su, R. Ballarini and A.H. Heuer, "Structural Basis for the Fracture Toughness of the Shell of the Conch Strombus Gigas," Nature, Vol. 405, 29 June 2000, pp. 1036-1040.(nature-reprint.pdf)

H. Kahn, R. Ballarini, R.L. Mullen and A.H. Heuer, "Electrostatically Actuated Failure of Microfabricated Polysilicon Fracture Mechanics Specimens," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, A 455, pp. 3807-3823, 1999.

R.L. Mullen, R. Ballarini and Y.Yin, "Monte-Carlo Simulation of Effective Elastic Constants of Polycrystalline Thin Films," Acta Metallurgica et Materialia, Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 2247-2255, 1997.

M. Jha, P.G. Charalambides and R. Ballarini, "Near-Tip Mode-I Elastic Fields in Bimaterial Layered Systems," International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 34, No. 15, pp. 1849-1871, 1997.

D.G. Lewicki and R. Ballarini, "Effect of Rim Thickness on Gear Crack Propagation Path," ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 119, pp. 88-95, 1997.

R. Ballarini and H. Luo, "Green's Functions for Dislocations in Bonded Strips and Related Crack Problems," International Journal of Fracture, Vol. 50, 1991, pp. 239-262.

D.J. Mukai, R. Ballarini and G.R. Miller, "Analysis of Branched Interface Cracks," ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 57, pp. 887-893, December 1990.

R. Ballarini, S.P. Shah and L.M. Keer, "Failure Characteristics of Short Anchor Bolts Embedded in a Brittle Material," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, A404, pp. 35-54, 1986.

L.M. Keer and R. Ballarini, "Smooth Contact Between a Rigid Indenter and an Initially Stressed Orthotropic Beam," A.I.A.A. Journal, Vol. 21, No. 7, July 1983, pp. 1035-1042.

Affiliated Laboratories

• CWRU MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) Resource Center
• NASA Glennan Microsystems Initiative

Click on the following to view a fatigue experiment conducted on the polycrystalline silicon MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) structure shown in the photograph:

memsfatigue.avi

Click on the following to view a fracture experiment conducted on a beam fabricated from the shell of the conch Strombus gigas:

conch.avi

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

CWRU Department of Civil Engineering

• Main Menu | Sitemap | Department Activities | On-Campus Menu

Communication

• Click to request a Graduate | Undergraduate Application Form.
• Click to get in touch with a Graduate | Undergraduate Student.
• Click to Schedule a Tour of the Department.