He received his SCM (1980) and PhD (1982) degrees in engineering (solid mechanics and structures with a minor in materials science) from Brown University.

Other interests include dynamic fragmentation; shear dominated intersonic rupture of inhomogeneous materials and composites, rupture mechanics of crustal earthquakes, shielding of spacecraft from hypervelocity micrometeoroid impact threats, the reliability of thin films and wafer level optical metrology.

Rosakis holds thirteen US patents on thin-film stress measurement and in situ wafer level metrology as well as on high speed infrared thermography.

The experiments use high-speed photography, full-field photoelasticity, digital image correlation (DIC) and laser velocimetry as diagnostics.

The far field tectonic loading is simulated by pre-compression while the triggering of dynamic rupture (spontaneous nucleation) is achieved by suddenly dropping the normal stress in a small region along the interface.

The frictional interface (fault) forms various angles with the compression axis to provide the shear driving force necessary for continued rupturing.

They also have investigated this new phenomenon in various engineering and geophysical settings involving shear dominated rupture in the presence of weak interfaces or faults.

By combining high speed photography, optical, spectroscopic and infrared techniques, including Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) interferometry, the dynamic perforation behavior involving crater morphology, debris and ejecta formation and solid/fluid/plasma transitions and interactions have been examined.