Professor Hsueh’s area of expertise is analytical modeling in deriving closed-form solutions for various issues of thermomechanical properties of materials.  This capability stems from the combined knowledge of physics, materials, mechanics, and mathematics.  Unlike the numerical simulation that is case-by-case and relies on computers, the closed-form solutions facilitate understanding the physics of material issues and they can be readily used to identify the key factors that control the performance and reliability of materials. The closed-form solutions provide guidelines in the material design and reduce the costly and time-intensive laboratory experiments.