Amine Benzerga

Amine Benzerga is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University, holding the General Dynamics endowed chair. As Director of the Center for Intelligent Materials and Structures (CiMMS), he leads cutting-edge research in smart material systems. He is affiliated with the Department of Aerospace Engineering within the College of Engineering, and his work integrates computational and experimental approaches to advance materials science.

Education:

• Ph.D., Material Science & Engineering, École des Mines de Paris, France (2000)
• M.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (1995)
• B.Sc., Aerospace Engineering, Sup'Aero, Toulouse (1995)
• Classes Préparatoires, Physics, Lycée Masséna, Nice (1989-1992)

Research Interests: His work focuses on Mechanics of Materials, High-Performance Computing, and Anisotropy in Plasticity and Fracture. He explores Ductile Fracture mechanisms, Discrete Dislocation Plasticity, and Macromolecular Mechanics of Polymers. Recent studies include stress triaxiality effects on fracture behavior in magnesium alloys and polymer composites, failure under severe shear, and computational modeling of spall dynamics during hypervelocity impacts.

Awards & Honors:

• Faculty Fellow, Texas Engineering Experiment Station (2014)
• Select Young Faculty Award, Texas Engineering Experiment Station (2009)
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2008)
• Highest Honors for Ph.D. Dissertation Work (École des Mines de Paris, 2000)

Grants & Advising: Amine has led grants such as the 2019 Multiscale Modeling of Damage Tolerance in Hexagonal Materials and the 2018 CyberTraining: CIC Computational Materials Science Summer School. His advisory work includes supervising experimental and computational studies on void coalescence and plasticity in metals and polymers.

Labs & Teams: As CiMMS Director, he oversees interdisciplinary projects in intelligent materials, including shape memory alloys and damage detection via sensory particles. His team collaborates on topics like texture effects in magnesium alloys and fracture locus path-dependence.