X-STRM TEAM
who. we. are.

LESLIE LAMBERSON
XSTRM DIRECTOR
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)
ANDREW MATEJUNAS
PHD CANDIDATE
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)
XINGYUAN "ZAZZY" ZHAO
PHD CANDIDATE
PhD Focus: Understanding Deformation Mechanisms in Highly Oriented MAX Phases Under Compression Across Strain-Rates
MS THESIS: Phase Content Influence on the Mechanical Behavior of Group V Transition Heavy Metal Carbides

ISABELLA MENDOZA
PHD CANDIDATE / SEM Student Ambassador
PhD Focus: Identifying Repetitive Impact Damage in Carbon Fiber Composites Using the Virtual Fields Method
MS Focus: Combined electromechanical dynamic fracture behavior of lead zirconate titanate
EMILY PITTMAN
PHD CANDIDATE / NDSEG FELLOW
PhD Focus:
Thermomechanical Characterization and Dynamic Deformation of the TWIP
Titanium Alloy Ti-15Mo
Co-Advisor: Dr. Amy Clarke, Mines
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
ALEXANDER WESTRA
PhD STUDENT / Mechanical Engineering Grad Fellow
PhD Focus:
Inertial-Based Impact Investigations of MAX Phases Leveraging the Virtual Fields Method
ALLISON ARRINGTON
PhD STUDENT
PhD Focus:
High Rate Response and Dynamic Failure of Additively Manufactured Ceramics
Co-Advisor: Dr. Geoff Brennecka, Mines
JOSEPH MORTON
PhD STUDENT / Mechanical Engineering Grad Fellow
PhD Focus:
Hypervelocity Impact Investigations of Smart Composites