Matthew Brake
Associate Professor
Education
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2007
MS, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2004
BS, Mechanical Engineering with and Additional Major in Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 2002
Executive Summary
Prof. Brake joined the University of Delaware in 2026. Prior to that, Prof. Brake was an associate professor at Rice University from 2016-2026, and a principal member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories from 2008-2016. Prof. Brake has been elected to several leadership positions, including as the director of the International Committee on Joint Mechanics, the chair of the Nonlinear Dynamics Technical Division of SEM, and the chair of the ASME Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound. He is a recipient of the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 2018 C.D. Mote Jr Early Career Award, and the National Science Foundation Career Award.
In his NOMAD.AI Lab, Prof. Brake studies nonlinear mechanics and dynamics for assembled structures and interfaces. His research has two major thrusts: the creation of a multi-scale, multi-physics modeling framework, termed tribomechadynamics, for predicting the response and wear of large structures with jointed interfaces, and the use of machine learning to develop more efficient numerical methods and experimental techniques. This research is applied to both making engines (including aeroturbines) more efficient and optimizing the design of aerospace structures. Central to the research in NOMAD.AI is the study of friction and wear, and how these mechanisms that manifest at the nano- and micro-scales influence the dynamics of macro-scale structures.
RESEARCH AREAS
- Composites and Advanced Materials
- Nanotechnology
- Clean Energy & Environment
FACULTY EXPERTISE
- Aerospace Engineering
- Design Science
- Dynamics & Control Theory
- Materials Engineering
- Solid Mechanics
- Experimental Methods
