Education 

Ph.D., Florida State University, 2015

Research Interests 

• Micromechanics
• Nanomaterials
• Composites
• Fracture Mechanics
• Digital Twin Technology
• Predictive Simulations
• Multifunctional Materials

Publications

1. Tank, M., & Sweat, R. (2022). Boron Nitride Nanotube (BNNT) and its Composites: A Review. Materials Performance and Characterization. doi:10.1520/MPC20220042
2. Tank, M., Reyes, A., Park, J. G., Scammell, L., Smith, M., De Leon, A., & Sweat, R. (2022). Extreme Thermal Stability and Dissociation Mechanisms of Purified Boron Nitride Nanotubes: Implications for High-Temperature Nanocomposites. ACS Applied Nano Materials. doi:10.1021/acsanm.2c01965
3. De Leon, A., Tank, M., & Sweat, R. (2022). A Scalable Fiber Bundle Pullout Manufacturing Method for Data-Driven Interfacial Shear Strength Measurement of Micro and Nanomaterials. Composites Science and Technology. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2022.109375
4. Patadia, M., Tank, M., De Leon, A., & Sweat, R. (2022). Data-Driven Digital Twins of Nano and Micro Composite Interfacial Failure. In SAMPE. Charlotte, NC.
5. Tank, M., Reyes, A., & Sweat, R. (2022). Decomposition Mechanisms and Extreme Temperature Thermal Stability of Boron Nitride Nanotubes in Inert Environments. In SAMPE. Charlotte, NC.
6. Roy, S., Sohail, T., Nakarmi, S., Sweat, R., Baughman, R., & Lu, H. (2022). Simulation of Surface Asperities on a Carbon Fiber using Molecular Dynamics and Fourier Series Decomposition to Predict Interfacial Shear Strength in Polymer Matrix Composites. Composite Interfaces. doi:10.1080/09276440.2022.2029314
7. Song, N., Jackson, M., Montgomery, C., Wu, S., Jain, N., Sweat, R., & Souza, F. (2021). Using Multiscale Modeling to Advance Industrial and Research Applications of Advanced Materials. International Journal for Multiscale Computational Engineering. doi:10.1615/IntJMultCompEng.2021039707
8. Akintola, T. M., Tran, P., Sweat, R., & Dickens, T. (2021). Thermomechanical Multifunctionality in 3D-Printed Polystyrene-Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNT) Composites. Journal of Composites Science, 5(2), 61. doi:10.3390/jcs5020061
9. Sweat, R., Park, J. G., & Liang, R. (2020). A Digital Twin Approach to a Quantitative Microstructure-Property Study of Carbon Fibers through HRTEM Characterization and Multiscale FEA. Materials, 13(19). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194231
10. Pokela, R., Psulkowski, S., Pollard, M., Sweat, R., & Dickens, T. (2020). Multiscale Simulation Approach to Localized Interfacial Bonding and Stress-State Analysis of Self-Triggering Sensors. In SAMPE. Virtual.
11. Xu, H., Drozdov, G., Hourahine, B., Park, J. G., Sweat, R., Frauenheim, T., & Dumitrica, T. (2019). Collapsed carbon nanotubes: From nano to mesoscale via density functional theory-based tight-binding objective molecular modeling. Carbon, 143, 786-792. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2018.11.068
12. Jolowsky, C., Dessureault, Y., Sweat, R., Park, J. G., Hao, A., & Liang, R. (2019). Alignment Induced SelfAssemblage of Carbon Nanotubes for Structural Composite Applications. In ASC 34th Technical Conference. Atlanta, GA.
13. Park, J. G., Sweat, R., & Liang, Z. (2019). Quantitative Microstructure Study of Pan and Pitch-based Carbon Fibers through TEM and X-ray scattering analysis. In ASC 34th Technical Conference. Atlanta, GA.
14. Jolowsky, C., Sweat, R., Park, J. G., Hao, A., & Liang, R. (2018). Microstructure evolution and self-assembling of CNT networks during mechanical stretching and mechanical properties of highly aligned CNT composites. Composites Science and Technology, 166, 125-130. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.04.003
15. Hao, A., Zhang, S., Nguyen, N., Dong, L., Jolowsky, C., Downes, R., Park, J. G., & Liang, R. (2017). Manufacturing Process and Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber/Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper Interply Hybrid Composites. In 21st International Conference on Composite Materials. Xi'an, China.
16. Yang, J., Downes, R., Schrand, A., Park, J. G., Liang, R., & Xu, C. (2016). High electrical conductivity and anisotropy of aligned carbon nanotube nanocomposites reinforced by silicon carbonitride. Scripta Materialia, 124, 21-25. doi:10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.06.023
17. Yang, J., Downes, R., Yu, Z., Park, J. G., Liang, R., & Xu, C. (2016). Strong and Ultra-flexible Polymer-Derived Silicon Carbonitride Nanocomposites by Aligned Carbon Nanotubes. Ceramics International, 42, 13359-13367. doi:10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.078
18. Su, Yi-Feng, Park, J. G., Koo, A., Trayner, S., Hao, A., Downes, R., & Liang, R. (2016). Characterization at Atomic Resolution of Carbon Nanotube/Resin Interface in Nanocomposites by Mapping sp 2-Bonding States Using Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 22(03), 666-672. doi:10.1017/S1431927616000805
19. Hao, A., Downes, R., Bui, K., Justice, D., Garcia, S., Park, J. G., & Liang, R. (2016). Scale-up and Continuous Highly Aligned Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sheets for High-Performance CNT/Bismaleimide Nanocomposites. In ASC 31st Technical Conference. Williamsburg, VA.
20. Downes, R., Hao, A., Park, J. G., Su, Yi-Feng, Liang, R., Jensen, B., Siochi, E., & Wise, K. (2016). Graphitic Crystal Morphology and Failure Modes of Collapsed and Aligned Carbon Nanotubes in Nanocomposites. In SAMPE Long Beach. Long Beach, CA.
21. Downes, R., Hao, A., Park, J. G., Su, Yi-Feng, Liang, R., Jensen, B., Siochi, E., & Wise, K. (2015). Geometrically constrained self-assembly and crystal packing of flattened and aligned carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 93, 953-966. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2015.06.012
22. Trayner, S., Hao, A., Downes, R., Park, J. G., Su, Yi-Feng, & Liang, R. (2015). High-resolution TEM analysis of flattened carbon nanotube packing in nanocomposites. Synthetic Metals, 204, 103-109. doi:10.1016/j.synthmet.2015.03.005
23. Wang, S., Downes, R., Young, C., Haldane, D., Hao, A., Liang, R., Wang, B., Zhang, C., & Maskell, R. (2015). Carbon Fiber/Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper Interply Hybrid Composites: Manufacturing Process and Tensile Properties. Advanced Engineering Materials, 17(10). doi:10.1002/adem.201500034
24. Li, Z., Downes, R., & Liang, Z. (2014). In Situ Polymerized pCBT Composites with Aligned Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper: Structure and Properties. Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 216(3), 292-300. doi:10.1002/macp.201400443
25. Downes, R., Wang, S., Haldane, D., Moench, A., & Liang, R. (2014). Strain-Induced Alignment Mechanisms of Carbon Nanotube Networks. Advanced Engineering Materials, 17(3). doi:10.1002/adem.201400045
26. Downes, R., Wang, S., Trayner, S., Hao, A., & Liang, R. (2014). Carbon Nanotube Alignment, Assembling and Packing for High-Performance Composite Applications. In Nanotechnology Materials and Devices Workshop. Cincinnati, OH.
27. Downes, R., Wang, S., Haldane, D., & Liang, R. (2013). Mechanisms of Strain Induced Alignment of Carbon Nanotubes (CNT): Process Scale-Up and Quasi-Continuous Highly Aligned CNT Material. In 19th International Conference on Composite Materials. Montreal, Canada.
28. Downes, R., Wang, S., Haldane, D., & Liang, R. (2013). Carbon Nanotube Alignment Mechanisms under Uniaxial Strain. In SAMPE Long Beach. Long Beach, CA.

Dr. Rebekah Sweat is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering through FSU. She went on to work as a research scientist at Solvay in advanced composites; her area included experimental and computational micromechanics. Since she joined the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in 2019, she has worked on more than 14 research grants as PI and Co-PI. Overall, she has published more than 25 refereed journal and conference papers. Her current research and teaching interests are micromechanics, nanomaterials, composites, digital twin technology, predictive simulations, and multifunctional materials..