Dr. Yashashree Kulkarni

Bill D. Cook Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Director of Research Computing

Office Location N216 Engineering Building 1

Phone 713-743-3657

Fax 713-743-4503

Email ykulkarni [at] uh.edu

Website Kulkarni Research Group

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology, June 2007 (Completed 2002 – 2006)

Master of Science, Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology, June 2002 (Completed 2001 – 2002)

Bachelor of Technology, Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, August 2001 (Completed 1997 – 2001)

Professional Experience

Director of Research Computing, 2019 - present Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston

Professor, 2020 - present Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston

Associate Professor, 2015 - 2020 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston

Assistant Professor, 2009 - 2015 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston

Postdoctoral Researcher, 2007 - 2009 Department of Structural Engineering, University of California San Diego

Courses Taught

MECE 2336: Mechanics I: Statics

MECE 3336: Mechanics II: Dynamics

MECE 3369: Solid Mechanics

MECE 6377: Continuum Mechanics I

MECE 6382: Theory of Elasticity

MECE 6384: Methods of Applied Mathematics I

MECE 6397: Computational Modeling of Materials

MECE 6397: Statistical Mechanics of Materials

Research Interests

Solid mechanics, Theoretical and computational materials science, Statistical mechanics, Atomistic simulations, Mechanical behavior of materials

Current Research Topics:

Statistical mechanics of active matter
Electromechanical behavior of soft materials
Statistical mechanics of fluctuating interfaces
Time-scaling in atomistic simulations
Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline intermetallics

Awards & Honors

ASME Materials Division Centennial Mid-Career Award, 2024

President, Society of Engineering Science, 2024

Associate Editor, ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews, 2024-present

ASME Fellow, 2022

Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2018-2024

Young Observer, US National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 2022

Diversity Advocate, Applied Mechanics Reviews, 2021-2022

Bill D. Cook Professorship, Mechanical Engineering, UH, 2020 - present

ASME Materials Division Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award, 2017

Elected Board Member, Society of Engineering Science, 2018-2021

W. T. Kittinger Teaching Excellence Award, Cullen College of Engineering, UH, 2016

Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award, Cullen College of Engineering, UH, 2014

Larry Witte Faculty Fellowship, Mechanical Engineering, UH, 2014

Bill D. Cook Professorship, Mechanical Engineering, UH, 2012 - 2017

Outstanding Teacher Award, Cullen College of Engineering, UH, 2012

DARPA Young Faculty Award, 2010

Charles D. Babcock Teaching Assistant Award, Caltech, 2005

Robert T. Knapp Fellowship, Caltech, 2001 - 2002

Institute Silver Medal, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, 2001

Professional Activities

Served as President of the Society of Engineering Science, 2024

Served at the Treasurer of the Society of Engineering Science, 2019-2024

Serving on the Executive Committee of the Applied Mechanics Division of the ASME

Co-organizer of symposiums at:

10th US National Congress on Computational Mechanics Columbus, OH, July 2009
11th US National Congress on Computational Mechanics, Minneapolis, July 2011
Society of Engineering Science Annual Technical Meeting, Evanston, IL, October 2011.

Selected Publications

Sreekanth Ramesh, Yashashree Kulkarni. “Statistical mechanics of active vesicles and the size distribution paradox.” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 191, 105749 (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2024.105749
Xu, K., Sheng, X., Mathew, A., et al. “Mechanical Behavior and Thermal Stability of Nanocrystalline Metallic Materials with Thick Grain Boundaries.” JOM, 76, 2914–2928 (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-024-06585-4
Mathew, A., & Kulkarni, Y. “An Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Theory With Flexoelectricity: Application to Ionic Conductivity of Soft Solid Electrolytes.” ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, April 2024, 91(4), 041001 (2023). DOI: 10.1115/1.4063897
Yashashree Kulkarni. “Fluctuations of active membranes with nonlinear curvature elasticity.” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 173, 105240 (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2023.105240
Ruizhe Su, Dajla Neffati, Yifan Zhang, Jaehun Cho, Jin Li, Haiyan Wang, Yashashree Kulkarni, Xinghang Zhang. “The influence of stacking faults on mechanical behavior of advanced materials.” Materials Science and Engineering: A, 803, 140696 (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2020.140696
Y. Kulkarni. “Coarse-graining of atomistic description at finite temperature using formal asymptotics.” International Journal for Multiscale Computational Engineering. In Press (Invited).
T. Sinha, & Y. Kulkarni. “Anomalous deformation twinning in fcc metals at high temperatures.” Journal of Applied Physics, 109, 114315 (2011).

Papers

Mathew, and Y. Kulkarni, Active matter as the underpinning agency for extraordinary sensitivity of biological membranes to electric fields, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122, e2427255122 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2427255122
R. Su, D. Neffati, J. Cho, Z. Shang, Y. Zhang, J. Ding, Q. Li, S. Xue, H. Wang, Y. Kulkarni, and X. Zhang, High-strength nanocrystalline intermetallics with room temperature deformability enabled by nanometer thick grain boundaries, Science Advances, 7, eabc8288 (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc828
D. Chen, and Y. Kulkarni, Entropic interaction between fluctuating twin boundaries, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 84, 59 (2015).
Y. Kulkarni, and R. J. Asaro, Are some nano-twinned fcc metals optimal for strength, ductility, and grain stability, Acta Materialia, 57, 4835 (2009).
Y. Kulkarni, J. Knap, and M. Ortiz, A variational approach to coarse-graining of equilibrium and non-equilibrium atomistic description at finite temperature, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 56, 141 (2008).