Kevin Hemker, the Alonzo G. Decker professor of mechanical engineering, is known for work explaining the underlying, atomic-level details that govern the mechanical response, performance, and reliability of disparate material systems. He holds joint appointments in the departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Hemker’s research group has made key observations and discoveries that have challenged the way the community thinks about and understands materials behavior in nanocrystalline materials, materials for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), metallic micro-lattices, thermal barrier coatings for satellites and gas turbines, armor ceramics, extreme environments, and high-temperature structural materials. They are now working on projects including deformation behavior and grain growth in nanocrystalline materials and thin films, the characterization and modeling of multilayered thermal protection systems, the development of metallic materials for MEMS, and the development of architected materials through textile and additive manufacturing.