Conference talks at 18th US National Congress on Computational Mechanics

At the 18th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics (USNCCM18) in Chicago, the CEAD Lab presented two complementary research efforts. The first introduces a nodal finite element approximation (NFEM) for peridynamics, enabling seamless coupling of fracture mechanics with other physics—such as corrosion and heat diffusion—via standard finite element methods. The second explores neural operators for accelerating parameter estimation and topology optimization, focusing on strategies to control approximation errors in data-limited scenarios. Applications include parameter inference in diffusion and elasticity problems and topology optimization of magnetic soft materials.