- Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
- Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Phone: 401.874.2227
- Fax: 401.874.2355
- Email: nick7557@my.uri.edu
- Office Location: University of Rhode Island
206 Wales Hall
Kingston, RI 02881 USA - Website
Biography
Nick obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island in 2009 with minors in both mathematics and business administration. He continued on to graduate work, obtaining his Master’s degree under Dr. Shukla, where he conducted research in the field of nanocomposites. His research focused on utilizing carbon-based nanoparticles within polymeric materials as in situ sensors for detecting information such as material deformation and damage. The electro-mechanical response of these multifunctional composites were investigated under both static and dynamic loading conditions. He published two papers (J. of Experimental Mechanics, J. of Materials Science) based on this work before graduating.
He is currently pursuing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering under Dr. Shukla, focusing on incorporating graphene as a filler material inside of polymer matrices to study the electro-mechanical and thermo-mechanical response of these novel composites. The studies being conducted will provide new insights for the development of novel sensors for both static and dynamic application.
In his free time, Nick enjoys personal fitness, weight lifting and outdoor activities.
Selected Publications
1. Heeder, N., Shukla, A., Chalivendra, V., Yang, S., Park, K. Electrical Response of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nanocomposites under Static and Dynamic Loading. Journal of Experimental Mechanics 52(3): 315-322, 2012.
2. Heeder, N., Shukla, A., Chalivendra, V., Yang, S. Sensitivity and Dynamic Electrical Response of CNT-reinforced Nanocomposites. Journal of Materials Science 47(8): 3808-3816, 2012.
3. Abotula, S., Heeder, N., Chona, R., Shukla, A. Dynamic Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of Hastelloy X under Shock Wave Loading. Experimental Mechanics, DOI: 10.1007/s11340-013-9796-4, 2013.
4. Godfrin, M.P., Guo, F., Chakraborty, I., Heeder, N., Shukla, A., Bose, A., Hurt, R.H., and Tripathi A. Shear Directed Assembly of Graphene Oxide in Aqueous Dispersions into Ordered Arrays. Langmuir, DOI: 10.1021/la4028173.