The Engineer's Impact - Elli Gkouti

Your inside look at faculty’s research and its effect on society

In this new Q&A series, we’ll feature Western Engineering faculty members to gain a succinct overview of their research, understand its impact on society, and discover intriguing little-known facts.

Meet Mechanical and Materials Engineering Assistant Professor Elli Gkouti.

ellix115x150Can you describe your research?

My research aims to improve the performance of advanced materials by developing innovative composites and smart materials. I use advanced numerical simulations to study the relationship between mechanical properties and overall performance across different scales. Additionally, I explore the integration of AI-driven technologies for intelligent defect detection, quality control, and autonomous failure prediction in materials science and engineering. This includes smart manufacturing and multi-physics modeling, combining AI with experimental and image-based techniques to fabricate, characterize, model, and simulate advanced materials.

How does your research impact society in everyday life?

Enhancing the performance and reliability of advanced materials is crucial across diverse industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, and biomedicine. With my team, we aim to significantly enhance product safety, efficiency, and sustainability by developing smarter, more resilient materials and integrating AI-driven technologies. Predicting materials' fatigue or weaknesses accounting for their microstructure in critical components enables proactive measures to prevent failures, reducing maintenance downtime and ensuring safer operations. Extending this innovative strategy to biomedical applications, intelligent methods can detect early signs of material degradation or structural failure, improving device longevity and patient safety. These advancements lead to more durable products, safer transportation, and innovative solutions in healthcare and environmental protection, ultimately promoting a higher quality of life and sustainable practices.

What’s an interesting, little-known fact related to your research?

Considering that today, we are able to teach advanced material science and solid mechanics to AI through ML algorithms, we can predict material failures at the microscopic level long before they become visible. It's incredible to think that AI can 'see' what human eyes and conventional techniques cannot, ensuring greater safety and reliability in everyday applications.