Addis A Kidane

Addis A Kidane

Professor Kidane’s field of research is experimental solid mechanics, focusing on the mechanics of materials such as composites, nanocomposites, functionally graded materials, cellular materials, polycrystalline, and energetic materials at high strain rates loading and temperature. Prof. Kidane’s current research is focused on three main themes of mechanics of materials: (i) understanding the failure mechanisms in heterogeneous materials, such as rigid foams, composites, and energetic materials subjected to impact loading, ii) damage mechanisms in functionally graded materials, polycrystalline metals, and composite vi local in-site DIC and iii) effect of nanoparticles on the thermal and mechanical properties of nanocomposites and fiber-based composites.


Professor Kidane obtained his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Rhode Island (URI) and spent two years at the California Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral scholar. Prior to joining Columbia University in January 2022, Prof. Kidane served as assistant professor and associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.

  • Summer Visiting Researcher, Sandia National Laboratory (May 21 – June 14, 2012)
  • Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (2009 - 2011)
  • Associate Professor, Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University, NewYork, NY (01/2022 – present)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of SouthCarolina, Columbia, SC (8/2017 – 01/2022)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (8/2011 - 8/2017)
  • Associate Editor: Mechanics of Materials (Jan 2022 -present)
  • Member: Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM), (2007-present)
  • Member: American Society of Composites (ASC) (2011-present)
  • Member: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (2011-present)
  • Carnegie Africa Diaspora Fellow, June 2022-August 2023
  • Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Ethiopia 2019/2020
  • The Peterson Award, SEM’s Best Paper Award for the Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, SEM, 2018
  • The James W. Dally Young Investigator Award, the Society for Experimental Mechanics, 2018.
  • 2018 Breakthrough Star, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of South Carolina, 2018
  • Young Investigator Research Award, College of Engineering and Computing, the University of South Carolina, 2017
  • ORR Early Career Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Materials Division, 2016
  • Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) Award, U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), 2014
  • Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Grants, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Applied Mechanics Division, 2013

1. V. Gupta, A. Kidane, M.A Sutton, Closed-Form Solution for Shock Wave Propagation in Density-
Graded Cellular Material Under Impact, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters, 11 (5):
100288, 2021.  
2. A. Fahim, A. Kidane, M.A. Sutton, Loading Rate Effects for Flaws Undergoing Mixed-Mode I/III
Fracture, Experimental Mechanics, 1-17, 2021. (Impact Factor 2.496)
3. B. Koohbor, M. Rohanafir, A. Kidane, Characterizing fracture response of cracked transversely
graded materials, Composite Structures, 229: 111439, 2019. (Impact Factor 5.138)
4. S. Ravindran, A. Tessema, A. Kidane, J. Jordan., Weak-shock wave propagation in polymer-
based particulate composites". Journal of Applied Physics. 125, 145104; doi: 10.1063/1.5081035,
2019. (Impact Factor 2.286)
5. S. Rajan, M.A. Sutton, R. Wehbe, B. Tatting, Z. Gurdal, A. Kidane, H. Harik, Experimental
investigation of prepreg slit tape wrinkling during automated fiber placement process using
StereoDIC. Composites Part B: Engineering, 160: 546-557, 2019.
6. P. Malchow, B. Koohbor, S. Ravindran, A. Kidane, In-situ Quantification of Intra and Intergranular
Deformation in Pure Magnesium Using Full-Field Measurements at Low and High Strain Rates,
Mechanics of Materials, 126: 36-46, 2018.
7. A. Tessema, D. Zhao, J. Moll, S. Xu, R. Yang, C. Li, SK. Kumar, A. Kidane, Effect of filler loading,
geometry, dispersion and temperature on thermal conductivity of polymer nanocomposites,
Polymer Testing 57: 101-106, 2017.