Thomas Mader

Background

About Thomas Mader

My name is Thomas Mader and I completed my PhD (Dr.techn.) in Applied and Computational Mechanics at the University of Innsbruck in March 2024. My research focused on the direction-dependent mechanical behavior of layered quasi-brittle materials such as rock/rock mass and 3D-printed concrete, considering irreversible deformations, strain hardening, strain softening, and material stiffness degradation due to damage processes. Following this, I gained valuable experience in industrial process optimization at the corporate research and development department of Plansee SE. My main responsibilities included thermo-mechanical and thermo-electrical numerical analysis of powder metallurgical products of molybdenum and tungsten, as well as the development of software tools for optimal dimensioning. Additionally, in my role as Design Manager, I was responsible for ensuring compliance with ASME BPVC Section standards in specific design processes. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). My research focuses on developing, implementing, and applying meshfree particle methods for solving PDEs. In particular, I am working on a robust and stable formulation of the Reproducing Kernel Particle Method (RKPM) for generalized continua.