[2] Del Gado was appointed a Marie Curie Fellow in 2001, working with Walter Kob at the University of Montpellier II.
[5][6] She uses modelling and numerical simulations to investigate materials with structural and dynamical complexity; which include amorphous solids, gels and glasses, as well as new green formulations of cements.
Del Gado's group have developed novel theoretical and computational approaches, as well as investigating how the topology of the gel network can determine softening, strain-hardening and brittleness.
She has studied how different structural constituents and frozen-in stresses can modify the gel mechanics, and used this understanding to explain experimental observations in a range of materials.
To elucidate the role of soft modes, structural heterogeneities and topology, the Del Gado group devised a novel spatio-temporal analysis of these dynamics.
Del Gado demonstrated that large stress heterogeneities frozen-in during solidification can result in microscopic ruptures and rearrangements, which are due to the elasticity stored in the material structure, which produces intermittent and strongly correlated dynamics.
Using Monte Carlo simulations and molecular dynamics Del Gado studied cement formation, finding the early-stage gelation is crucial in attaining its unique strength.