The design and fabrication of micro and nano multiphysics systems, such as MEMS and NEMS, can be accelerated by developing accurate physical theories and efficient computational tools that describe the motion and operation of these systems. The objective of this research is to develop computational approaches that incorporates the mathematical descriptions of the involved physical systems and their interactions at different scales to enable efficient and accurate computational analysis and design of micro and nano multiphysics systems with applications to sensors and actuators. The research effort in this topic is focused on (1) investigating the fundamental physics and developing accurate mathematical models for various materials, such as crystalline solids, low-dimensional materials, fluids, polymers and composites, in nanoscale and microscale, (2) studying the interaction and energy transfer between different physical domains (mechanical, thermal, electrical etc), and (3) the control and optimization of the multiphysics interactions for enhanced performance of these systems.

1. Y. Xu and G. Li, "Thermal Actuation using Nanocomposites: A Computational Analysis" Journal of Heat Transfer, accepted, 2012.
2. H. Li and G. Li, "Component Mode Synthesis Approaches for Quantum Mechanical Electrostatic Analysis of Nanoscale Devices," Journal of Computational Electronics, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 300-313, 2011.(full text)
3. W. Wang, G. Li and Y. Huang, "Modeling of Bubble Expansion-Induced Cell Mechanical Profile in Laser-Assisted Cell Direct Writing," Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, vol. 131, no. 3, pp. 051013-1-10, 2009.(full text)
4. T. Starling, M. Daqaq and G. Li, "A Computational Approach for Pre-Shaping Voltage Commands of Torsional Micromirrors," Computer Modeling in Engineering and Sciences, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 207-225, 2009.(full text)
5. M. Grujicic, V. Sellappan, B. Pandurangan, G. Li, N. Seyr, A. M. Erdmann and J. Holzleitner, "Computational Analysis of Injection-Molding Residual-Stress Development in Direct-Adhesion Polymer-to-Metal Hybrid Body-In-White Components," Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 203, no. 1-3, pp. 19-36, 2008.(full text)
6. G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``A Lagrangian Approach for Quantum-Mechanical Electrostatic Analysis of Deformable Silicon Nanostructures'', Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, vol. 30, no. 11, pp. 925-939, 2006. (full text)
7. Z. Tang, Y. Xu, G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``Physical Models for Coupled Electromechanical Analysis of Silicon Nanoelectromechanical Systems'', Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 97, no. 11, art. no. 114304, 2005. (full text)
8. G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``Hybrid Techniques for Electrostatic Analysis of Nanoelectromechanical Systems'', Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 2221-2231, 2004. (full text)
9. G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``Efficient Mixed-Domain Analysis of Electrostatic MEMS'', IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 1228-1242, 2003. (full text)
10. G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``A Lagrangian Approach to Compute Electrostatic Forces on Deformable MEMS'', Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 245-254, 2002. (full text)
11. G. Li and N. R. Aluru, ``Linear, Nonlinear and Mixed-Regime Analysis of Electrostatic MEMS'', Sensors and Actuators A, vol. 91, no. 3, pp. 278-291, 2001. (full text)