Prashant K. Jha

Prashant K. Jha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Previously, he served as a Mechanical Engineering Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at the University of Portsmouth and held postdoctoral positions at Louisiana State University and the Oden Institute at UT Austin.

• PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (2016), Carnegie Mellon University
• ME in Mechanical Engineering (2012), Indian Institute of Science
• BE in Mechanical Engineering (2010), Govt. Engineering College Raipur

His research focuses on computational mechanics of materials, combining peridynamics, machine learning, and nonlocal modeling to study:

• Fracture mechanics in soft and granular materials
• Multiphysics and multiscale simulations
• Neural operators for scientific computing
• Uncertainty quantification in material models
• Design of functional materials under extreme conditions
• Applications to biomedical imaging and tumor growth

Recent publications emphasize neural operator surrogates with error correction, peridynamic modeling of granular media, and multi-fidelity simulations. His work has appeared in journals like CMAME, ARMA, and JCP.

• NSF ERI award (2025) for multi-fidelity modeling
• SDBOR CRG award (2025) for magnetic soft materials

He advises students in computational mechanics and serves on editorial boards of Journal of Peridynamics and Nonlocal Modeling, JOSS, and Scientific Reports. The CEAD Lab develops methods for fracture analysis, smart material design, and nonlocal neural operator frameworks.