Prof. Ronaldo Borja, Stanford University, USA

works in the fields of theoretical and computational solid mechanics, geomechanics, and geosciences. At Stanford University, he teaches an undergraduate course in geotechnical engineering, a graduate course in mechanics and the finite element method, and two doctoral level courses in computational plasticity and computational poromechanics.

His research includes the development of multiscale discontinuity models for crack and fracture propagation, including the strong discontinuity and extended finite element methods, the development of solution techniques for multiphysics processes such as coupled solid deformation-fluid diffusion in saturated and unsaturated porous media, and the formulation of stabilized finite element methods for nonlinear boundary-value problems in solid and contact mechanics.

His current projects include liquefaction and solidification of cohesionless soils, folding and fracturing of sedimentary rocks, and unsaturated flow in double-porosity continua.