Francesco Maresca

Francesco Maresca is an Associate Professor in the Computational Mechanical and Materials Engineering group within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen. His research focuses on multi-scale modeling of materials, particularly in understanding the structure-property relationships in alloys through atomistic and continuum methods. He leads the Multi-Scale Mechanics (MSM) research group and has made significant contributions to the fields of dislocation plasticity, fracture mechanics, and high-entropy alloys.

Education:

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Mechanics of Materials), cum laude, TU Eindhoven (2015)
• M.Sc. in Civil Engineering (Structural/Solid Mechanics), cum laude, University of Florence (2011)
• B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, cum laude, University of Florence

Research Interests: Maresca's research spans multi-scale modeling of materials, with a focus on dislocation plasticity, phase transitions, and fracture in alloys. His group applies these methods to tackle challenges such as hydrogen embrittlement and liquid metal embrittlement in steels, functional fatigue in shape memory alloys, and the strength/ductility trade-off in high-entropy alloys. They employ a range of techniques including molecular dynamics, crystal plasticity, and machine learning to bridge scales from atomistic to continuum.

Publication Trends: His recent work (2024-2025) shows a strong emphasis on atomistic and multi-scale modeling of dislocation behavior, fracture, and strengthening mechanisms in advanced alloys. Key themes include the application of machine learning to develop accurate interatomic potentials, the study of grain boundaries and twin interfaces, and the investigation of embrittlement phenomena in steels. This reflects a trend toward integrating computational methods with experimental validation to address real-world material challenges.

Scientific Awards:

• Biezeno award 2016 for Solid Mechanics (Best PhD thesis in Solid Mechanics in the Netherlands)
• Young Academic’s award 2016 (Best PhD thesis in Europe in metallurgy and materials science of steels)
• Nominated Emerging Leader 2021 by the journal Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering

Advising and Grants: Maresca currently supervises one postdoctoral researcher, four PhD students, and several master's and bachelor's students. His group's research is supported by grants focused on multi-scale modeling of materials, including projects on hydrogen embrittlement, shape memory alloys, and high-entropy alloys. He collaborates extensively with institutions such as EPFL (where he was a postdoc) and TU Eindhoven, and with researchers like Prof. E. Van der Giessen on discrete dislocation plasticity.

Labs and Teams: He leads the Multi-Scale Mechanics (MSM) research group at the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), which is part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. The group operates within a collaborative environment that includes access to high-performance computing resources and partnerships with experimental groups for validation studies.