Raffaella De Vita, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Lab
Research Areas
- Biomaterials
- Biomechanics
- Solid mechanics
Research Interests
- Reproductive mechanics
- Ligament and tendon mechanics
- Nonlinear elasticity and viscoelasticity
- Experimental and theoretical solid mechanics
Education
- University of Pittsburgh: Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, 2005
- University of Pittsburgh: M.S., Mechanical Engineering, 2003
- University of Naples II: Laurea, Mathematics, 2000
Awards, Honors, and Service
- College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Teaching, 2017
- Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence, Virginia Tech, 2017
- Visiting Professorship, La Sapienza, Rome, 2016
- JBME Editors' Choice paper, 2015 Premio Progreditur Marcianise, 2015
- Paper in Highlights of Smart Materials and Structures, 2014
- Liviu Librescu Faculty Prize, 2014
- College of Engineering Faculty Fellow, 2014-2017
- College of Engineering Award for Outreach Excellence, 2014
- 20 under 40 ASEE Prism Magazine, 2014
- PECASE Award, 2012
- Excellence in Access and Inclusion Award, Virginia Tech, 2013
- Scholar of the Week, Virginia Tech, August 27, 2012
- NSF CAREER Award, 2012
- NSF CBET Award Achievement, 2012
- Paper in Highlights of Smart Materials and Structures, 2011
- American Society of Biomechanics President's Award, 2006
- Laurea cum Laude in Mathematics, 2000
Recent Publications
Baah-Dwomoh,* A., De Vita, R., Effect of Repeated Biaxial Loads on the Creep Properties of Cardinal Ligaments, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 74:128-141, 2017.
De Vita, R., Grange, R., Nardinocchi, P., Teresi, L., Mathematical Model for Isometric and Isotonic Muscle Contractions, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 425:1-10, 2017.
Baah-Dwomoh,* A., McGuire,* J., Tan,* T., De Vita, R., Mechanical Properties of Female Reproductive Organs and Supportive Connective Tissues: A Review of the Current State of Knowledge, Applied Mechanics Reviews, 68:060801, 2016.
Tan,* T., Cholewa, N. W., Case, S. W., De Vita, R., Micro-structural and Biaxial Creep Properties of the Swine Uterosacral-cardinal Ligament Complex, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 44:3225-3237, 2016.
Kwansa,* A. L., De Vita, R., Freeman, J. W., Tensile Mechanical Properties of Collagen Type I Microfibrils and its Enzymatic Crosslinks, Biophysical Chemistry, 214-215:1-10, 2016.
Webster,* M. R., Socha, J. J., Teresi, L., Nardinocchi, P., De Vita, R., Structure of Tracheae and the Functional Implications for Collapse in the American Cockroach, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 10:066011, 2015.
Guo,* Z., Freeman, J. W., Barrett, J. B., De Vita, R., Quantification of Strain Induced Damage in Medial Collateral Ligaments, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 137:071011, 1-6, 2015.
Tan,* T., De Vita, R., A Structural Constitutive Model for Smooth Muscle Contraction in Biological Tissues, International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 75:46-53, 2015.
Tan,* T., Davis,* F., Gruber, D. D., Massengill, J. C., Robertson, J. L., De Vita, R., Histo-mechanical Properties of Swine Uterosacral and Cardinal Ligaments, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 42, 129-137, 2015.
Becker,* W. R., De Vita, R., Biaxial Mechanical Properties of Swine Uterosacral and Cardinal Ligaments, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 14:549-560, 2015.
