LESLIE LAMBERSON
XSTRM DIRECTOR

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Leslie is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering with affiliation in Materials Science at the Colorado School of Mines.  Her area of expertise is in mechanics of materials under extreme conditions.  She earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and B.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Michigan, her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and her Ph.D. in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to her faculty position, Leslie was a postdoctoral researcher with K.T. Ramesh at the Johns Hopkins University. A former Lockheed Martin “Skunk Works” engineer, Leslie was a 2013 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow, a recipient of an ONR Young Investigator Award, and an NSF CAREER award.  She is currently an Associate Editor for the journal Strain and a Technical Editor for Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials.

KAPIL BHAGAVATHULA
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Research Focus: Low-Impedance Cellular Material Characterization and Development for Next-Generation Helmet Liners to Mitigate TBI

PhD - University of Alberta, Canada (Advisor:  Dr. James Hogan)

PhD Focus:  Viscoelastic Constitutive Parameter Identification using the Image Based Inertial Impact Test and the Virtual Fields Method

Co-Advisor:  Dr. Lloyd Fletcher, UK Atomic Energy Authority

MS - New Mexico Tech, Thesis: Dynamic Tensile Failure of Rolled Magnesium (Advisor: Dr. Jamie Kimberley)

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XINGYUAN "ZAZZY" ZHAO
PHD CANDIDATE

PhD Focus: Understanding Deformation Mechanisms in Highly Oriented MAX Phases Under Compression Across Strain-Rates

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MS THESIS: Phase Content Influence on the Mechanical Behavior of Group V Transition Heavy Metal Carbides

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ISABELLA MENDOZA
PHD CANDIDATE / SEM Student Ambassador

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PhD Focus: Identifying Repetitive Impact Damage in Carbon Fiber Composites Using the Virtual Fields Method

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MS Focus:  Combined electromechanical dynamic fracture behavior of lead zirconate titanate 

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EMILY PITTMAN
PHD CANDIDATE / NDSEG FELLOW

PhD Focus: 

Thermomechanical Characterization and Dynamic Deformation of the TWIP

Titanium Alloy Ti-15Mo

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Co-Advisor:  Dr. Amy Clarke, Mines

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MS Focus:  Dynamic fracture of aerospace composites

MEGAN SHEPHERD
PHD STUDENT

PhD Focus:  

Dynamic Fracture and Failure Behavior of Additively Manufactured Polymers and Advanced Polymer Systems

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BRANDON HINKLE
PhD STUDENT

PhD Focus: 

Dynamic Fracture of Advanced Ceramic-Polymer Composite Systems

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ALEXANDER WESTRA
PhD STUDENT / Mechanical Engineering Grad Fellow

PhD Focus:  

Inertial-Based Impact Investigations of MAX Phases Leveraging the Virtual Fields Method

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ALLISON ARRINGTON
PhD STUDENT

PhD Focus:

High Rate Response and Dynamic Failure of Additively Manufactured Ceramics

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Co-Advisor:  Dr. Geoff Brennecka, Mines

MOIRA FOSTER
PhD STUDENT / Lawrence Livermore National Lab Mechanical Engineer

PhD Focus:  

Repetitive Impact Behavior and Damage Tolerance of Elastomeric Foams 

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JOSEPH MORTON
PhD STUDENT / Mechanical Engineering Grad Fellow

PhD Focus:

Hypervelocity Impact Investigations of Smart Composites​

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JACKSON PARKER
MS STUDENT / R&D Engineer @ CoorsTek 

MS Focus:  

Rate Dependent Compressive Behavior of Silicon Carbide

Collaborator:  Dr. Terence Whalen, CoorsTek

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DANIEL MORRISON
MS STUDENT

MS Focus:

Mechanical and Thermal Property Evaluation of Polyurethane Foams Under Quasi-Static and Dynamic Compression

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CAROLINE TURNER
MS STUDENT

MS Focus:  

​Impact Fatigue Performance of Polyurethane Foams

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