MAE Distinguished Speaker Series 2026 Seminar on Modeling Fiber-Reinforced Biosolids: Focus on Artery Walls in Health and Disease

15 Jun 2026 02.30 PM - 03.30 PM LT5 (North Spine, NS2-02-07) Current Students, Public

Professor Gerhard A. Holzapfel

Graz University of Technology, Austria

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

This seminar will be chaired by Prof K Jimmy Hsia.

Seminar Abstract

Fiber-reinforced biosolids consist of a matrix reinforced by fiber families or fiber distributions with different orientations. In biological fibrous tissues, these fibers are typically collagen, while the matrix often contains elastic fibers. In arterial walls, the matrix may be modeled as an isotropic neo-Hookean material, whereas dispersed collagen fibers introduce anisotropy. Together, collagen and elastic fibers form a dynamic microstructure that governs biomechanical behavior during the cardiac cycle and adapts to physiological and pathological stimuli, though both fiber types may be disrupted by disease. This presentation summarizes a powerful dispersion model, particularly a strain-energy function that incorporates both mechanical and structural material properties. Building on this structural artery model, a patient-specific fluid–structure interaction model of aortic dissection will be demonstrated to analyze system behavior under varying parameters. The results suggest a strong link between hemodynamics and aortic growth, highlighting the potential of patient-specific biomechanical models for broader clinical translation.

Speaker's Biography 

Gerhard A. Holzapfel has been Professor of Biomechanics and Head of the Institute of Biomechanics at Graz University of Technology, Austria, since 2007, and is Adjunct Professor at NTNU, Norway. After earning his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in Graz, he was an Erwin-Schrödinger Visiting Scholar at Stanford University (1993–95), completed his Habilitation at TU Vienna in 1996, and received Austria’s prestigious START Award in 1997. His major honors include inclusion in The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds (2014), the Erwin Schrödinger Prize (2011), the William Prager Medal and Warner T. Koiter Medal (2021), honorary doctorates from École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (2024) and the University of Parma (2025), the Huiskes Medal for Biomechanics and EUROMECH Solid Mechanics Prize (2025), Fellowship of the European Academy of Sciences (Engineering Division, 2024), and election as an International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (2025). He has contributed to 30+ books and published 350+ peer-reviewed journal articles, with an h-index over 100.

Categories