Assessing the Mechanical Properties of Tissues and Biomaterials
Estefanía Peña, Universidad de Zaragoza
Monday 12 January 2026, 12.00 PM
ICMAB - Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles and ONLINE (Register here)
Abstract
The mechanical testing of biological tissues and biomaterials is essential for understanding their structural performance and for guiding the design of medical devices, implants, and regenerative strategies. A wide range of experimental techniques—including tensile, compressive, shear, bending, indentation, and dynamic mechanical tests—provides quantitative insight into key properties such as stiffness, viscoelasticity, strength, and failure behavior. Biological tissues pose challenges related to variability, hydration, and anisotropy, while biomaterials require tailored testing conditions to capture their engineered architectures and mechanical response under physiological environments. This presentation offers an overview of established and mechanical testing methodologies, highlighting practical considerations in sample preparation, experimental setup, and result interpretation.
Short bio
Estefanía Peña Baquedano is currently Full Professor of Structural Mechanics at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNIZAR since 2017. From 2001 to 2008, she was assistant professor of Structural Mechanics at the UZ and from 2008 to 2017 she was associate professor. She achieved his Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics at the University of Zaragoza in 2004. She was visiting scholar at University of Southampton (UK) and Joseph Fourier University-CNRS of Grenoble (France).
Prof. Peña has published more than 120 papers in ISI-indexed journals, over 200 conference contributions, as well as numerous book chapters, reports, and invited presentations. She has served as Deputy Director of the Aragón Institute for Engineering Research (I3A), Coordinator of its Biomedical Engineering Division, and a member of various national and European research committees. She has also been Head of the Mechanical, Naval and Aeronautical Engineering Panel at the Spanish State Research Agency. She is an active member of several national and international scientific societies and serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals.
As recognition of her scientific career, she received the Individual Excellence Award in Research from the Spanish ECCOMAS Association for the Best PhD Thesis in 2004, the Juan Carlos Simó Award from the Spanish Society of Numerical Methods in Engineering (SEMNI) in 2011, and an award from the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain in 2015.
Prof. Peña has coordinated several research lines in the field of bioengineering. She is an expert in computational mechanics, with particular emphasis on numerical modeling of soft biological tissues, especially cardiovascular tissues. Her work also includes multiscale modeling of inelastic behavior in biological tissues, vascular disease progression, and interactions with medical devices. In recent years, she has expanded her research into experimental biomechanics.
Hosted by Anna Laromaine, from the NN group (Materials for Health Research Line)
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