Our research focus is in the mechanical characterization of solids and structures in challenging environments, and at high temperatures in particular. We are especially interested in the role that environment plays on a material's ability to withstand heterogeneous failure mechanisms such as fracture, fatigue, and creep.

Our lab uses advanced imaging techniques to extract full-field, in situ strain and temperature measurements across multiple length scales. These techniques are applied to a wide variety of advanced high temperature materials (including metals, ceramics, and composites), with applications geared towards the energy, aerospace, and nuclear industries.

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News

Dec 17, 2020: Adam Smith defends his M.S. Thesis titled "Development of a Variable Extensometer Method for Measuring Ductility Scaling Parameters." Congratulations Adam!

Nov 30, 2020: Micah, Tanner, and Hannah are accepted into USU's Engineering Undergraduate Research Program (EURP). Congratulations!

Nov 16-19, 2020: The lab presents a combined nineteen (19) posters/talks at the ASME-IMECE  Virtual Conference.

Sept 21, 2020: Prof. Berke is awarded a $160,000 Infrastructure Grant from the USDOC Nuclear Energy University Program

Sept 14-17, 2020: Robert, Brandon, Bobby, Weston, Emma, and Fiona present a combined 7 talks at the SEM Virtual Conference.

July 9, 2020: Our paper, "Damage Accumulation in a Novel High-Throughput Technique to Characterize High Cycle Fatigue," is available from Journal of Testing & Evaluation.

Mar 25, 2020: Thinh defends his dissertation titled "Improvement of Ultraviolet Digital Image Correlation (UV-DIC) at Extreme Temperatures." Congratulations Dr. Thai!

Mar 4, 2020: Thinh's paper, "Change of exposure time mid-test in high temperature DIC measurement," is available from Measurement Science & Technology.

Feb 26, 2020: Weston Craig receives a graduate fellowship from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Congratulations Weston!

News Archive