Stefanie Heyden

Dr. Stefanie Heyden is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Building Materials (IfB) within ETH Zürich's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. She leads an independent SNF Ambizione project in the Computational Mechanics Group under Prof. David Kammer.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics, Caltech (advisor: Prof. Michael Ortiz)
• Humboldt Fellowship, University of Bonn (advisor: Prof. Sergio Conti)

Research Focus:
Stefanie investigates the mechanics and physics of soft condensed matter systems, with emphasis on hydrogel characterization, polymer network fracture, and surface elasticity. Her work spans computational modeling to experimental validation.

Scientific Contributions:

• Developed Gel-Freezing Osmometry (GelFrO) for hydrogel mechanical characterization
• Advanced understanding of surface elasticity in large deformation regimes
• Explored disorder effects on polymer network fracture energy

Awards:

• Humboldt Fellowship
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) Ambizione Grant

Collaborative Networks: Active in international conferences (GDR IDE, DYFP), with interdisciplinary collaborations in materials science, physics, and engineering.