About the authors AKHTAR S. KHAN is Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Plasticity and founder and Chairman of the International Symposium on Plasticity and Its Current Applications. Dr. Khan is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has published over fifty papers in leading international journals. He received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University. SUJIAN HUANG is a Senior Project Engineer in the Materials Research Division of Smith International, Inc. Dr. Huang is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, and Pi Tau Sigma, and has published many papers in the field of plasticity. He received his PhD from the University of Oklahoma.