Professor Thomas R. Bieler earned a B.A. in Applied Mechanics at University of California at San Diego in 1978 followed by a M.S. In Ceramic Engineering at University of Washington (Seattle) in 1980.  He worked for five years at Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore on high rate deformation.  He completed his Ph.D. in Materials Science (with a minor in continuum mechanics) at University of California at Davis in 1989, and has been at Michigan State University thereafter.

His research focuses on characterization of mesoscale deformation mechanisms and plasticity modeling in titanium based alloys, tin in the context of lead-free solder joints, and high purity niobium used in superconducting particle accelerator cavities.