• Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
  • University Distinguished Professor
  • Erle Nye ’59 Chair I
  • Member, National Academy of Engineering
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George M. Pharr IV

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University - 1979
  • M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University - 1977
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Rice University - 1975

Research Interests

    • Nanoindentation and small-scale mechanical testing
    • Mechanisms of plasticity and fracture, especially at small-scales
    • Finite element simulation of indentation contact
    • Contact mechanics
    • Dislocation modeling of plastic deformation

Awards & Honors

  • ASM Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers of Metallurgy (1984)
  • Amoco Teaching Award for Superior Teaching, Rice University (1994)
  • Fellow of ASM International (1995); MRS (2012); TMS (2015)
  • Humboldt Foundation Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists (2007)
  • Innovation in Materials Characterization Award, Materials Research Society (2010)
  • National Academy of Engineering (2014)
  • The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Nadai Medal (2018)

Selected Publications

  • R.S. Ginder, W.D. Nix and G.M. Pharr, “A Simple Model for Indentation Creep”, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 112, pp. 552-562 (2018).
  • M. Ghidelli, M. Sebastiani, K. E. Johanns, and G. M. Pharr, “Effects of Indenter Geometry on Micro-scale Fracture Toughness Measurement by Pillar Splitting, Journal of the American Ceramic Society 100, pp. 5731-5738 (2017).
  • B. Merle, V. Maier-Kiener, and G.M. Pharr, “Influence of Modulus-to-Hardness Ratio and Harmonic Parameters on Continuous Stiffness Measurement during Nanoindentation”, Acta Materialia 134, pp. 167-176 (2017).
  • K.E. Johanns, J.H. Lee, Y.F. Gao, and G.M. Pharr, “An Evaluation of the Advantages and Limitations of Simulating Indentation Cracking with Cohesive Zone Finite Elements”, Modeling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering 22, 015011 (2014).
  • P. Sudharshan Phani, K.E. Johanns, E.P. George, and G.M. Pharr, “A Simple Stochastic Model for Yielding in Specimens with a Limited Number of Dislocations”, Acta Materialia 61, pp. 2489-2499 (2013).
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