Research

My research interests are in analytical and experimental solid mechanics and materials science; particularly in mechanics of composite materials for aircraft structures. Issues such as failure analysis, development of new experimental methods, nondestructive evaluation, and the use of wave propagation and vibration data for structural health monitoring. Some current and past efforts include:

Structural Health Monitoring - The is an effort to develop better methods of determining the presence, location and severity of hidden damage in critical structural components. The structure is instrumented with actuators and sensors to excite and record its dynamic response from vibration and wave propagation. The relative effectiveness of the methods is examined for a variety of boundary conditions and sensor locations relative to the defects. External collaborators: Prof. Ajit Mal (UCLA), Prof. Sauvik Banerjee (Univ. of St. Louis), and Prof. Fabrizio Ricci (Univ. of. Naples).

Interlaminar Shear Strength of Fiber Metal Laminate - Fiber metal laminate is an emerging material in aerospace applications. In this study, in-plane shear strength properties of fiber metal laminates at elevated temperatures are examined. (with Andrew Enke, '06)

Testing Method Improvement for Interlaminar Tensile Strength in Composites - The only current testing standard designated for the out-of-plane interlaminar tensile strength (ILTS) in composite is studied to, hopefully, make improvements in the test method. (with Andrew Enke, James Lee, Jono Nicoln, and Chaowei Pang, all SU BSME '06, partially completed as a 2005-6 Senior Design Project).

Feedback Improvement of Endoscopic Surgical Instruments - Endoscopic surgical instruments used for minimally invasive surgeries provide poor feedback to surgeons. The goal of the project is to develop an interface to provide sensory feedback to the surgeon's hand on the force being applied to the tissue by the instruments. (with Andrew Lybarger '07).

Some modest exploratory studies are also being conducted in making improvements to ceramics manufacturing, analytical solution to thin membrane wrinkling under a pure shear load, and other interesting problems in analytical and experimental mechanics.