USNH Employees should apply within Workday through the Jobs Hub app Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Prof. Mrityunjay Kothari’s group. The focus of the position is to advance the theoretical and computational mechanics of soft solids under coupled physical environments. The position is situated within a sponsored research program on the finite-deformation mechanics of soft
and biological materials, where the central questions concern how large elastic deformation couples to additional fields—thermal, transport, phase-change, and damage—within a rigorous continuum framework. The researcher will develop continuum theories and the corresponding finite-element implementations that resolve these couplings, translate constitutive theory into verified numerical code, and publish results in
leading mechanics journals. Beyond core research, the position offers opportunities to develop collaborations, to gain structured experience in research-proposal writing, and to mentor graduate and undergraduate students, preparing the candidate for an independent research career. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible appointment, renewable contingent on performance and continued funding, and is not considered
essential staff. The position is for one year initially, with renewal contingent on performance. Duties/Responsibilities The primary duties of the position are to conduct research on the mechanics of soft solids and to develop the associated theoretical and computational tools. Specific responsibilities include: formulating theories and experiments, computational models and their implementation (such as in
FEniCS/FEniCSx and in Abaqus via user-element and user-material subroutines (UEL/UMAT)), preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals and presenting results at conferences. The researcher will also gain experience contributing to research proposals and technical reports for the sponsoring program, and will help mentor graduate and undergraduate students on theory, code, and experiment development. Requirements
Minimum Acceptable Education & Experience: Doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or Solid Mechanics completed by the start date. Strong track record of high-quality publications in peer-reviewed journals; demonstrated research expertise in nonlinear (finite-strain) continuum mechanics and the mechanics of solids. Demonstrated proficiency in finite-element implementation through at least one of
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