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Faculty & research

Dwayne D. Arola

Faculty Photo

Director, Applied Masters Program (AMP)

Professor
Materials Science & Engineering

Adjunct Professor
Mechanical Engineering

Adjunct Professor
Restorative Dentistry

Adjunct Professor
Oral Health Sciences

Biography

Dwayne Arola received his training in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. In addition to Materials Science and Engineering, he holds adjunct appointments in Mechanical Engineering, Oral Health Science and Restorative Dentistry. His research is broadly focused on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of materials with emphasis on process-performance relationships and aging. His interests include additive manufacturing, bioinspiration, damage tolerance, and the durability of engineering and natural materials

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 1996
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 1991
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 1989

Previous appointments

  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Research Professor, Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry, Dental School, University of Maryland

Research Statement

My research program is focused on solving problems that involve the mechanical behavior of materials and contributions to their damage tolerance and durability. Our current studies are focused on understanding the properties of engineering materials and natural materials. Much of the effort is aimed at evaluating the fatigue and fracture behavior of these materials, as well as finding ways to examine and quantify changes in their behavior with aging. Our methods span across length scales from the nano- to the macro-. Recent efforts in the group have greater focus on additive manufacturing, including their applications, process to performance relationships and key obstacles to industrial adoption.

In addition to our efforts on conventional systems, we are developing next-generation materials inspired by biological structural materials. We have current studies underway aimed at the development of material systems with inspired microstructures to achieve unprecedented properties and performance.

Current projects

Aging of Hard Tissues: Aesthetics and Durability


Bioinspired Design of Damage Tolerant Engineered Materials


Mechanical Property Variability in Selective Laser Melting Additive Manufacturing


Additive Manufacturing of Polymer Composites and their Durability Under Prolonged Marine Environments


Understanding metal quality variations and the contribution of spatter using in-situ monitoring


Reducing Carbon Footprint with Zeolite Concrete Composites


Select publications

  1. Marsico C, Grimm J, Renteria C, Tang K, Guillen DP, Nikitin V, Arola DD. Characterizing the microstructures of mammalian enamel by synchrotron microCT. Acta Biomaterialia 2024; 178: 208-220. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2024.02.038.
  2. Parker M, Ivanthong A, Law E, Waddell S, Matsuzaki R, Arola D. 3D Printing of a novel continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic. Additive Manufacturing 2022; 54: 102763.
  3. Renteria C, Fernandez Arteaga J, Yan W, Ossa AE and Arola D. Mammalian enamel: A universal tissue and diverse source of inspiration. Acta Biomaterialia 2021; 136 (12):402-11.
  4. Schur R, Ghods S, Wisdom C, Pahuja R, Montelione A, Arola D, and Ramulu M. Mechanical anisotropy and its evolution with powder reuse in electron beam melting AM of Ti6Al4V. Materials and Design 2021; 200:109450.
  5. Marsico C, Øilo M, Kutsch J, Kauf M, Arola D.Vat polymerization-printed partially stabilized zirconia: Mechanical properties, reliability and structural defects. Add Man 2020; 36:101450.
  6. Montelione A, Ghods S, Schur R, Wisdom C, Schultz E, Pahuja R, Arola D, and Ramulu M. Powder Reuse in Electron Beam Melting Additive Manufacturing of Ti6Al4V: Microstructure, Oxygen Content and Particle Properties. Add Man 2020; 35: 101216
  7. Jiang H, Ghods S, Weller E, Waddell S, Ossa AE, Yang F and Arola D. Contributions of Intermolecular Bonding and Lubrication to the Mechanical Behavior of a Natural Armor. Acta Biomat 2020; 106: 242-255.
  8. Arola D, Ghods S, Son W, Murcia S, Ossa EA. Interfibril bonding improves the strain-rate response of natural armor. J Royal Soc: Interface 2019; 16(150):1-12.
  9. Yan W, Montoya C, Øilo M, Ossa A, Paranjpe A, Zhang H, Arola D. Reduction in fracture resistance of the root with aging. J Endod. 2017;43(9):1494-1498.
  10. Arola D. Fatigue testing of biomaterials and their interfaces. Dent Mater. 2017;33(4):367-381. Invited
  11. Yahyazadehfar M, Arola D. The role of organic proteins on the crack growth resistance of human enamel. Acta Biomaterialia. 2015;19:33-45.
  12. Bajaj D. and Arola D. On the R-Curve Behavior of Human Tooth Enamel. Biomaterials 2009; 30(23-24);4037-4046.
  13. Zhang D and Arola D. Application of digital image correlation to biological tissues. J Biomed Optics. 2004; 9(4):691-699.

Honors & awards

  • Elected MSE Faculty of the Year Award, Senior Class, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020,2022, 2024
  • Faculty Appreciation for Career Education and Training , 2022
  • Graduate Faculty of the Year, PhD Students, 2022
  • Thousand Talents Scholar, Shanghai Municipality, Shanghai University, China, 2017
  • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2004
  • Whitaker Foundation Award, 2003
  • Elected Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2014
  • UMBC Distinguished Research Fellow, 2008, University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Fulbright Fellow