The Department of Mechanical Engineering is proud to announce Seo Young Ahn as the recipient of the 2026 Best Dissertation Award for her outstanding doctoral research titled “Nano/Micromechanical Investigation of Nature-Inspired Porous Materials.”
Seo’s dissertation represents an exceptional contribution to experimental mechanics and materials science, uncovering how complex porous architectures found in nature govern mechanical behavior across multiple length scales. Nature-inspired porous materials, ranging from biological systems to engineered microstructures, are widely recognized for their remarkable combinations of strength, toughness, and multifunctionality. However, the fundamental relationship between their hierarchical structure and mechanical and fracture response has remained a major scientific challenge.
To address this, Seo developed a systematic multiscale experimental framework that progressively decouples structural complexity, moving from idealized isolated pores to fully hierarchical architectures. By integrating advanced experimental tools including two-photon lithography, in-situ nanomechanical testing, nanoindentation, micropillar compression, and 4D nano-computed tomography under mechanical loading, her work provides fresh insight into deformation, instability, and failure mechanisms in porous materials.
One of the key outcomes of this work is showing that pore morphology, not just porosity, controls stiffness, energy dissipation, strain-rate sensitivity, and fracture behavior at both nano and microscales. This provides an experimentally validated multiscale framework and enables the design of porous materials with tailored properties.
This award is one of many achievements and recognitions on Seo’s doctoral journey, which included exceptional research achievements and national-level recognition. During her PhD, she spent a summer at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, gaining valuable experience in advanced materials research in a national defense setting. In the final year of her PhD, she was awarded a prestigious U.S. Department of Energy fellowship, through which she conducted research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, further expanding the scope and impact of her work. She also published several peer-reviewed journal articles in leading journals, reflecting the breadth and impact of her contributions to the field.
Prior to joining the Mechanical Engineering PhD program, Seo earned her undergraduate degree in the Department of Physics at the University of Utah. She was recruited during the pandemic by Dr. Pania Newell to join her research group, where she quickly established herself as a highly creative and driven researcher.
Through a combination of experimental innovation, multiscale thinking, and scientific rigor, her dissertation sets a new benchmark for understanding porous materials and establishes foundational design principles for next-generation structural, biomedical, and energy applications.
Following her PhD, she received the prestigious NRC Postdoctoral Award and joined the Naval Research Laboratory, continuing her work in advanced materials research.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering warmly congratulates Seo Young Ahn on this outstanding and well-deserved recognition.