Civil Engineering PhD Graduate Receives LSU Dissertation Award
April 25, 2019
BATON ROUGE, LA – The LSU Office of Research & Economic Development, or ORED, recently
presented the 47th annual Distinguished Research Master Awards, which honor the exceptional
research and scholarship of two LSU faculty each year. In addition, the LSU Alumni
Association and the Graduate School sponsor the Distinguished Dissertation Awards
presented to two doctoral students whose research and writing demonstrate superior
scholarship.
One of those students was Aref Samadi-Dooki, who received his PhD in civil engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering. He earned the award in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for his doctoral dissertation that expands knowledge on the mechanical behavior of the brain.
“I am really honored to be named the recipient of the LSU Alumni Association Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering & Technology,” Samadi-Dooki said. “The work which resulted in this dissertation is a comprehensive study of the biomechanics of the brain, which entailed my collaboration with researchers in various fields. This recognition emphasizes the fact that the [College of Engineering] at LSU supports and promotes scientific activities which involve interdisciplinary research that could provide solutions for problems which require a multi-angle view.”
Samadi-Dooki’s results from his dissertation, “Experimental, Analytical and Numerical Evaluation of the Mechanical Properties of the Brain Tissue,” are useful as input variables for computer simulations of brain tissue in studying traumatic brain injury, malformation of the brain folds and other pathobiological conditions associated with the mechanical behavior of the brain.
While recent studies have unraveled the importance of the biomechanics of the brain
on its pathological conditions, the ultra-soft nature of this tissue makes its mechanical
evaluation extremely challenging. In this study, the accurate analysis of the mechanical
heterogeneity of the brain tissue is performed using dynamic and pseudo-static indentation
techniques. In addition, this research provides a detailed reference for modeling
the nonlinear mechanical behavior of soft tissues in general, and the brain tissue
in particular, while addressing important considerations for mechanical modeling.
Moreover, a new model is developed for the behavior of the brain tissue that addresses
the tension-compression asymmetry, taking into account the compressibility of the
tissue in different loading conditions, implemented with a combined analytical and
numerical scheme.
Samadi-Dooki received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from
Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. He received his PhD majoring in civil
engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering, as well as a graduate certificate
in materials science and engineering from LSU, and was advised by LSU Civil & Environmental
Engineering Chair George Voyiadjis. He is currently employed as a mechanical engineering
consultant at Dupont Electronics and Imaging in Wilmington, Del.
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