X-STRM TEAM
who. we. are.

LESLIE LAMBERSON
XSTRM DIRECTOR
​Dr. Leslie Lamberson is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and a Ben L. Fryrear Endowed Chair for Innovation and Excellence. She holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Dance, and Business, including a Ph.D. from Caltech and an M.B.A. from UNC Chapel Hill. Her career spans industry, government, and academia, with past roles at Lockheed Martin “Skunk Works,” NASA Glenn, and Johns Hopkins University.
A recipient of the ONR Young Investigator and NSF CAREER Awards, Leslie’s research focuses on materials under extreme conditions, and advanced metrology and inverse techniques. She serves as Associate Editor for Strain and previously held board positions with the American Society for Composites (ASC) and the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). Her work bridges aerospace, defense, and materials science to advance engineering innovation and education.
ALLISON ARRINGTON
PhD Candidate / SANDIA Summer Intern
PhD Focus
Dynamic Characterization of the Niobium-based Refractory Alloy C103​
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ALEXANDER WESTRA
PhD Candidate / Mechanical Engineering Grad Fellow
PhD Focus
Energy Transfer and Absorption of Igneous Rocks and Layered Solids
In Collaboration with The Boeing Company's Shock Physics Laboratory
Seattle, WA​​
HILLARY CUNLIFFE-OWEN
PhD Student
PhD Focus
Inverse Identification of Dynamic Constitutive Behavior in Advanced Composites via the Virtual Fields Method
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MAX KEPHART
PhD Student / NDSEG Fellow
PhD Focus
Understanding Defects in Additively Manufactured Functionally Graded Materials Under Extreme Conditions
in collaboration with Dr. Joy Gockel, Mines ADAPT Center
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Army Research Laboratory, ORAU Internship, 2025​​​
DaJae Doral
PhD Student

Joining us Fall of 2025! ​
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MS - New Mexico Tech (advisor: Dr. Jamie Kimberley)
CRYSTAL MURILLO
PhD Student

Joining us Fall of 2025!
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BS - Aerospace Engineering (minor Materials) UC Riverside
JAREV PENA
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Current Project
Dynamic Thermomechanical Behavior of Open-Cell Polymeric Foams
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ALEXANDRA BAUMANN
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Current Projects
Fragmentation of Additively Manufactured Alumina
Thermomechanical Characterization of C103
GRAHAM WALTER
Mines Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF)
Current Project
Design & Validation of a Miniaturized Kolsky Bar System
XSTRM GRADUATES
ANDREW FURST
Formlabs Engineer
MS Thesis:
Thermomechanical Behavior of an Open-Cell Polyurethane Foam for Energy Absorption
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DR. MOIRA FOSTER
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Mechanical Engineer
Dissertation:
Viscoelastic Response and Deformation Mechanics of Polymeric Foams under Cyclic Compression
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DR. EMILY PITTMAN
Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientist 2
Dissertation:
Rate Effects on the Thermomechanical Compressive Response of Conventional and Metastable Beta Titanium Alloys
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