The Kamrin group is headed by Prof. Ken Kamrin in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.  Our research focuses broadly on continuum mechanics, with an emphasis on highly-deforming bulk materials such as granular materials, viscous fluids, and compliant elastic solids.  Continuum modeling, when applicable, can offer predictive power in a fraction of the time needed for full micro-level discrete simulation.  We aim to improve capabilities in the continuum by developing novel computational methods and material laws.  A significant motivational theme is to understand problems that combine fluid- and solid-like behaviors, either geometrically (as in fluid/structure interaction), or constitutively (as in viscoplastic material flow). 

Some broad areas of ongoing research include:  Constitutive modeling, simulation, and homogenization of amorphous materials;  simulation methods for finite-deformation solid laws;  reduced-dimensional models for thin materials of general rheophysical behavior;  and mobility theory of viscous flows over textured surfaces. See the tabs to the right for more details about our group.