Assistant Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics

Research focus
Aerospace materials and structures, design for manufacturing, composites, in-space assembly and manufacturing, deployable structures, design optimization

Education
Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 2021
M.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 2014
M.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2014
B.Tech Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, 2012

Avinkrishanan Vijaychandran (Avin Vijay) joins Aeronautics & Astronautics this fall from the University of Michigan, where he investigated Design for Manufacturing/Additive Manufacturing (DfM/DfAM) of aerospace structures as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a research faculty.

Vijay’s research focuses on leveraging structural mechanics and numerical tools for DfM/DfAM of composites and 3D printed plastics used in aircraft and spacecraft structures. At the UW, he established the G3MS in Aerospace, or Group for Mechanics, Materials, and Manufacturing of Structures in Aerospace, exploring problems in mechanics and design for manufacturing of structures inclusive of their varying material properties and the constraints, parameters, and signatures imposed by their manufacturing, and will include composites and additively manufactured materials for applications ranging from aircraft to space structures, including deployable and in-space assembly and manufacturing. Vijay is the recipient of the ASME/Boeing Best Paper Award and the Michigan Aerospace Outreach Champion Award.