The secret to how steel hardens and shape-memory alloys snap into place lies in rapid, atomic-scale shifts that scientists have struggled to observe in materials. Now, Cornell researchers are revealing how these transformations unfold, particle by particle, through advanced modeling techniques. Using custom-built computer simulations, Julia Dshemuchadse, assistant professor of materials science and engineering in Cornell Engineering, and Hillary Pan, Ph.D. ’25, have visualized solid-solid phase

Shape-memory alloys are materials that can be deformed in cold but go back to their original shape when you heat them. | Interesting Engineering