Laurence Brassart MEng PhD

Professor Laurence Brassart graduated with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Université catholique de Louvain in 2007, and with a PhD in Engineering Sciences from the same university in 2011. She then successively held postdoctoral positions at Harvard University (Fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation) and the Université catholique de Louvain (Chargé de Recherche FNRS).

From 2015 to 2019, Laurence was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Monash University (Melbourne). She joined the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford in August 2019.

Laurence’s research focuses on the development of original constitutive models and micromechanical approaches for a broad range of engineering materials, including polymers, soft materials and energy materials. She is particularly interested in multiphysics and multiscale aspects. 

Laurence’s research focuses on the development of advanced models and computational models that are useful to understand and predict the mechanical behaviour of engineering materials.  The general objective of her research is to elucidate the complex relationships between microstructure and macroscopic properties. Understanding these relationships is essential for the rational design of advanced materials and structures in many engineering fields.

Laurence’s research relies primarily on continuum mechanics, thermodynamics and applied mathematics. Her main areas of interest include:

• Micromechanics, multiscale modelling, homogenisation theory
• Constitutive modelling (elasticity, plasticity, large deformations)
• Multiphysics couplings in materials (diffusion and chemical reactions coupled to deformations)
• Computational mechanics

Her current projects focus on the chemo-mechanics of biodegradable polymers, the constitutive modelling of rubberlike materials, and the mechanics of energy storage materials. Check out the Brassart Group Webpage for more information.

I am always looking for talented and motivated graduate students with a keen interests in solid mechanics and materials modelling to join my group.

Interested students are invited to consult the Brassart Group webpage for up-to-date opportunities, adn to email me to discuss possible research projects.