Research

The design of various novel material systems and structures requires uncommon modeling techniques, and requires efficient, robust, and scalable computational tools. The advent of parallel computing through the use of distributed memory architectures has facilitated the modeling of large-scale physical phenomena. Nowadays, the obtention of computer clusters with hundreds of processors is becoming increasingly accessible, and the development of computer programs that run in parallel in high performance computers can even be performed in personal computers containing just a few CPU cores. This provides scientists unprecedented power for the simulation of complex physical events. Throughout many years, I have worked extensively in the boundary between computer science and engineering. I have implemented various programming projects, and some of these can be used for large-scale simulations. I envision the use and enhancement of these computational tools for the simulation of a broad class of engineering problems.

• Computational design of novel materials

• Analysis of heterogeneous microstructures

• Multi-scale modeling

• Multi-objective genetic algorithms for constrained search and optimization

• Gradient-based optimization

• Advanced finite element methods (GFEM/XFEM, Interface-enriched GFEM)

• Massively parallel scientific computing

• Computational solid and contact mechanics

• Computer science and engineering

Education

Master courses

• WB1418, Numerical Methods in Engineering Dynamics

Biography

Alejandro Marcos Aragón started working December 1st 2014 as an Assistant Professor in the Precision and Microsystems Engineering department of the Faculty of 3mE at TU Delft. Alejandro was born on November 10th, 1977, in San Juan, Argentina. He obtained the degree of “Ingeniero Civil”from the Universidad Nacional de San Juan in December of 2001. Soon after graduation he worked as a structural engineer in TESS, an engineering consulting studio located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. In 2004, Alejandro was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering in the USA. He obtained a M.Sc. in May 2006 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and immediately started a Ph.D. program under the guidance of Prof. Philippe H. Geubelle on the “Computational design of microvascular biomimetic materials”. He received the Mavis Memorial Scholarship Award in 2009 for academic excellence and research accomplishments. Alejandro obtained his Ph.D. in October 2010 and continued working with his advisor as a post-doctorate researcher on the “computational modeling of heterogeneous materials”. Halfway through this 1-year appointment, Alejandro joined his advisor during sabbatical year in Switzerland. After concluding his duties with UIUC, he joined the Computational Solid Mechanics Laboratory (LSMS) at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). There he worked as a post-doctoral researcher developing computational tools for the mathematical modeling of problems in contact mechanics.

Throughout many years he has worked extensively in the boundary between computer science and engineering. He has developed computational tools for large-scale simulations, tools that could be applied to a vast range of engineering problems. He has conducted research in the modeling of complex engineering problems, including the design of novel materials, the damage analysis of heterogeneous microstructures, and highly nonlinear problems in contact mechanics. His research focuses in the development and usage of advanced computational approaches, including generalized finite element methods (GFEM/XFEM, IGFEM), multi-objective genetic algorithms for constrained search and optimization, and gradient-based optimization.

Selected publications

• A. M. Aragón. A C++11 implementation of arbitrary-rank tensors for high-performance computing. Computer Physics Communications, 185(6): 1681 – 1696, 2014.
• A. M. Aragón and J.-F. Molinari. A hierarchical detection framework for computational contact mechanics. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 268(0): 574 – 588, 2014.
• A. M. Aragón, V. A. Yastrebov, and J.-F. Molinari. A constrained-optimization methodology for the detection phase in contact mechanics simulations. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 96(5): 323–338, 2013.
• A. M. Aragón. A measure for the impact of research. Scientific Reports, 3: 1649, 2013.  
• A. M. Aragón, S. Soghrati, and P. H. Geubelle. Effect of in-plane deformation on the cohesive failure of heterogeneous adhesives. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 61(7): 1600 – 1611, 2013. 
• A. M. Aragón, R. Saksena, B. D. Kozola, P. H. Geubelle, K. T. Christensen, and S. R. White. Multi-physics optimization of three-dimensional microvascular polymeric components. Journal of Computational Physics, 233(0): 132 – 147, 2013. 
• A. M. Aragón, K. J. Smith, P. H. Geubelle, and S. R. White. Multi-physics design of microvascular materials for active cooling applications. Journal of Computational Physics, 230(13): 5178 – 5198, 2011. 
• A. M. Aragón, C. A. Duarte, and P. H. Geubelle. Generalized finite element enrichment functions for discontinuous gradient fields. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 82(2): 242–268, 2010. 
• A. M. Aragón, J. K. Wayer, P. H. Geubelle, D. E. Goldberg, and S. R. White. Design of microvascular flow networks using multi-objective genetic algorithms. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 197(49–50): 4399 – 4410, 2008.

Personal site

You can find more information in Alejandro's  personal page.

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