Poromechanics Research of Xiang Li & Ritaja Ray Recognized

Xiang Li and Ritaja Ray, two CEE Ph.D. students working in the Geomechanics area, were respectively named the winner and runner-up in the Poster Competition hosted by the Poromechanics Committee of the Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) of ASCE. The competition, which was open to engineering disciplines, applied mathematics, materials science, and physics, was an opportunity for graduate students to present their research findings (experimental, computational, and theoretical studies) within the broad field of Poromechanics.

Xiang’s research focuses on assessing landslide hazards through computer models replicating the interaction between deformable ground and rainstorms. At the EMI 2022 conference, he presented a poster entitled “Coupled Flow-Deformation Analysis of the Acceleration of Creeping Landslides”. Ritaja’s research focuses on the formulation of mathematical models for fluid-saturated granular materials subjected to rapid loading under extreme pressures. At EMI 2022, she presented a poster entitled “Modeling the Behavior of Dry and Saturated Crushable Granular Media Subjected to Varying Loading Rates”. Both Xiang and Ritaja work in the laboratory of Professor Giuseppe Buscarnera in the Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering area of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. They successfully defended their Ph.D. dissertations and are expected to earn their doctoral degree this summer quarter.

Xiang's Poster

Rijata's Poster

McCormick News Article