Smart Composites (PDF)

Rani Elhajjar is currently a faculty member at the Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. He holds a Ph.D from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA and has researched the development of analytical and experimental techniques for fracture in pultruded composite materials, test methods for through thickness fracture testing in composites, and nondestructive experimental techniques using thermoelastic stress analysis, digital image correlation, and acoustic emission. Prior to this appointment, he was structural analyst on the 787 Dreamliner program at Boeing, Everett, Washington, USA, where he was responsible for several test programs including the effects of defects on the fuselage structure.

Valeria La Saponara is associate professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California-Davis, USA. She holds a Ph.D in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA (Georgia Tech). A recipient of a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, she has worked in the space research industry for an Italian microgravity-focused research center, subcontractor of NASA, and the European Space Agency; as well as served as instructor in civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech, and as assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA.

Anastasia Muliana is associate professor and Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz career development professor II at Texas A&M University, College Station, USA. She holds a Ph.D from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. An educator and researcher of micromechanics and viscoelastic response of composites, she has been published in over 60 journals and 25 conference proceedings. Her work has been recognized at the university level, through a TEES Select Young Faculty Award, as well as nationally thr