COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Dr. Anastasia Muliana, an assistant professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received a 2006 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for her research into new methods of analyzing the structure of advanced composite materials used in high-performance aircraft and marine construction and in bridges, tunnels and pipelines. The $400,000 grant will continue through 2011. The prestigious NSF CAREER awards are made to outstanding junior faculty members to help them advance their research and teaching activities. "Winning a CAREER award is an affirmation of Dr. Muliana’s potential as a new faculty member," said Dr. Dennis O’Neal, head of Texas A&M’s mechanical engineering department. "It is an extremely prestigious award for Dr. Muliana, and recognizes her commitment to scholarship and education. This award will help her establish her research program in the field of mechanics and attract top graduate students to the department. "As a department, we are extremely proud that Dr. Muliana has won a CAREER award." Muliana is also a researcher in the Polymer Technology Center of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the engineering research agency of the State of Texas and a member of The Texas A&M University System. Her research deals with building numerical models of the behavior of composite materials built up from individual layers of different materials. These built-up composites -- usually consisting of layers of fibers and polymers -- can be tailored precisely to fit individual applications, because each layer has different characteristics. The models Muliana is investigating will help engineers predict how these composites will behave over time in different conditions of heat, moisture, stress and damage. Industries using the composites will be able to use the models to understand how to use the materials more effectively. As part of the project, she also will develop computational mechanics courses, train both undergraduate and graduate engineering students in understanding the mechanics of these materials and will work with the industries that use composites to apply the research. Muliana joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2004. She received a bachelor’s degree from the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
