Horacio D. Espinosa
James N. and Nancy J. Farley Professor in Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship
Director of the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Graduate Program

Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Road, Room L286
Evanston, IL60208, USA

TEL: (847) 467-5989
FAX: (847) 491-3915

email: espinosa@northwestern.edu

BS Civil Engineering, Northeast National University (Argentina), 1981
MS Structural Engineering, Polytechnic of Milan (Italy), 1985
MS Applied Mathematics, Brown University, 1989
PhD Solid Mechanics, Brown University, 1992

Research link: Micro and Nano Mechanics

Honors and Awards

Research Activities

In the Classroom

Professor Espinosa has taught a variety of courses including, Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), Experiments in Micro/Nano Science and Engineering, Experimental Engineering, Elasticity, Damage and Inelasticity of Advanced Materials, Advanced Computational Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials, and Aircraft Structures.

His teaching philosophy addresses issues that require particular attention in modern education, which are: (a) the increasingly international world of business and markets, (b) the technological advances that are continuously raising the speed at which information is obtained and transmitted, and (c) the dynamics of the job market that makes likely that most individuals will enjoy several careers in their lifetime. It is his view that a student-centered curriculum in which the student takes responsibility for her or his education rather than a rigid and static core curriculum is the best choice for the future. Such a curriculum maximizes multidisciplinary course work, independent study and research (honor degrees), and encourages experimentation and intellectual expansion.

Editorial Activities

Selected Publications

T. Filleter, S. Yockel, M. Naraghi, J. T. Paci, O. C. Compton, M. L. Mayes, S. T. Nguyen, G. C. Schatz, and H. D. Espinosa. "Experimental-Computational Study of Shear Interactions within Double-Walled Carbon Nanotube Bundles," Nano Letters, DOI: 10.1021/nl203686d, 2012.

M.M.-Jolandan, R.A. Bernal, I. Kuljanishvili, V. Parpoil, and H.D. Espinosa. "Individual GaN Nanowires Exhibit Strong Piezoelectricity in 3D," Nano Letters, DOI: 10.1021/nl204043y, 2011.

R. Agrawal and H. D. Espinosa "Giant Piezoelectric Size Effects in Zinc Oxide and Gallium Nitride Nanowires. A First Principles Investigation" Nano Letters, Vol. 11, No. 2, p. 786-790, 2011.

R. Agrawal, J.T. Paci and H.D. Espinosa "Large-Scale Density Functional Theory Investigation of Failure Modes in ZnO Nanowires" Nano Letters, Vol. 10, No. 9, p. 3432-3438, 2010.

H.D. Espinosa, A. Juster, F. Latourte, O. Loh, D. Grégoire, and P. Zavattieri. "Tablet-level origin of toughening in abalone shells and translation to synthetic composite materials," Nature Communications, Vol. 2, No. 173, 2011.

F. Barthelat, H. Tang, P.D. Zavattieri, C.M. Li and H.D. Espinosa. "On the mechanics of mother-of-pearl: A key feature in the material hierarchical structure," Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 55, No. 2, p. 306-337, 2007.

M. Naraghi, T. Filleter, A. Moravsky, M. Locascio, R.O. Loutfy, and H.D. Espinosa. "A Multiscale Study of High Performance Double-Walled Nanotube-Polymer Fibers," ACS Nano, Vol. 4, No. 11, pp. 6463-6476, 2010.

G.H. Bratzel, S.W. Cranford, H.D. Espinosa and M.J. Buehler. "Bioinspired noncovalently crosslinked "fuzzy" carbon nanotube bundles with superior toughness and strength," Journal of Materials Chemistry, Vol. 20, No. 46, p. 10465-10474, 2010.

C.T. Lim, J. Han, J. Guck and H.D. Espinosa. "Micro and nanotechnology for biological and biomedical applications," Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, Vol. 48, No. 10, p. 941-943, 2010.

O. Loh, R. Lam, M. Chen, N. Moldovan, H. Huang, D. Ho, and H.D. Espinosa. "Nanofountain-Probe-Based High-Resolution Patterning and Single-Cell Injection of Functionalized Nanodiamonds," Small, Vol. 5, No. 14, p. 1667-1674, 2009.

O.Y. Loh, A.M. Ho, J.E. Rim, P. Kohli, N.A. Patankar and H.D. Espinosa. "Electric Field-induced Direct Delivery of Proteins by a Nanofountain Probe," PNAS, Vol. 105, No. 43, pp. 16438-16443, 2008.

B. Peng, M. Locascio, P. Zapol, S. Li, S. Mielke, G. Schatz and H.D. Espinosa. "Measurements of near-ultimate strength for multiwalled carbon nanotubes and irradiation-induced crosslinking improvements," Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 3, No. 10, pp. 626-631, 2008.

K.H. Kim, R.G. Sanedrin, A.M. Ho, S.W. Lee, N. Moldovan, C.A. Mirkin and H.D. Espinosa. "Direct Delivery and Submicrometer Patterning of DNA by a Nanofountain Probe," Advanced Materials, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 330-334, 2008.

Y. Zhu and H.D. Espinosa. "An electromechanical material testing system for in situ electron microscopy and applications" PNAS, Vol. 102, No. 41, p. 14503-14508, 2005.

H.D. Espinosa, Y. Zhu and N. Moldovan. "Design and operation of a MEMS-based material testing system for nanomechanical characterization," Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol. 16, No. 5, p. 1219-1231, 2007.

H.D. Espinosa, S. Lee, and N. Moldovan. "A Novel Fluid Structure Interaction Experiment to Investigate Deformation of Structural Elements Subjected to Impulsive Loading," Experimental Mechanics, Vol. 46, No. 6, p. 805-824, 2006.

F. Latourte, D. Grégoire, D. Zenkert, X. Wei and H.D. Espinosa. "Failure Mechanisms in Composite Panels Subjected to Underwater Impulsive Loads," Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 59, No. 8, pp. 1623-1646, 2011.

Issued Patents

"Nanocantilever Bistable Tunneling Proximity Sensor/Probe," (US patent 7,612,424).

"Microchannel forming method and nanotipped dispensing device having a microchannel," (US Patents 7250139, 2010, 7775087, 2010).

"Nanotipped device and method," (US Patent 7,997,123, 2011).