Haneesh Kesari

Haneesh Kesari is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Brown University, where he leads the Applied Mechanics Lab within the Solid Mechanics group of the School of Engineering. His research bridges theoretical and experimental mechanics to explore structure-property connections in engineering and biological materials.

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (2011)
• MS, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (2007)
• B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (2005)

Kesari’s work focuses on understanding how microscale architectural features in materials—such as the lamellar layers in marine sponge spicules—enhance macroscopic mechanical properties like strength and toughness. His group combines computational modeling and experimental mechanics to study phenomena including:

• Adhesion and fracture behavior in elastic contacts
• Lamellar architecture in biological glass fibers
• Stiction failure in MEMS devices
• Crack growth resistance in natural materials

His publications reveal trends in adhesive contact mechanics, biological material design, and microscale deformation, with implications for MEMS reliability and bioinspired material engineering. Awards include the Richard B. Salomon Award (Brown, 2019) and the Haythornthwaite Award (ASME, 2016). Kesari also contributes to mechanics education through courses like Continuum Mechanics and Fracture Mechanics at Brown University.