Dr. Bruno has been studying the behaviors and application of active materials for over a decade. His main interest is in the thermodynamic behavior of meta-magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs). MSMAs exhibit reversible martensitic phase transformations that can be driven by temperature, magnetic field, and mechanical stress. Martensitic transformations in MSMA exhibit macroscopic reversible strains up to 6%, accompanied by a change in magnetic order and temperature. Dr. Bruno has studied MSMAs for their application in magnetocaloric regenerative heat cycles and energy harvesting through magnetic-field-driven martensite variant reorientation and has studied the “transformation mechanism” and those that interrupt the transition in some specially annealed alloys. Aside from metallurgy and the thermodynamics of materials, Dr. Bruno enjoys employing mechanical engineering design principles for the development of novel multi-field magneto-thermo-mechanical systems useful for characterizing the couplings of active materials.
Nickolaus M. Bruno (Ph.D., Mech. Eng., Texas A&M University, M.S., B.S., Mech. Eng., Northern Arizona University) is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at SD Mines. Before joining the department, he worked as a Process TD Engineer for Intel Corporation in Hillsboro, OR. Dr. Bruno has authored and co-authored over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and is an active peer reviewer for a number of well-recognized scientific journals. He serves on the editorial board for Scientific Reports. As a faculty as SD Mines, he has been awarded two Faculty Fellowship Awards from NASA Glenn Research Center (2019, 2020). During his time at Texas A&M, he was awarded a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Trainee fellowship and, while working in industry, the Intel Technology and Manufacturing Group – Logic Technology Development Achievement Award. In 2017 and 2020, he received the Reviewer Honorarium for Acta Materialia, which honors those who help ensure the continued quality of the journal.
Dr. Bruno currently teaches courses in machine design, mechanical vibrations, and multi-functional materials.