Dr. Mike Czabaj is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, and is a director of the Utah Composites Laboratory. Dr. Czabaj’s research interests are in the broad area of experimental and computational mechanics of composite materials and structures. Dr. Czabaj’s specific areas of expertise include development of experimental tests for material property characterization of composites, fracture mechanics, experimental and computational micromechanics, and non-destructive characterization of damage and failure in polymeric and ceramic-matrix composites using ex situ and in situ X-ray computed tomography. Prior to his academic position at the University of Utah, Dr. Czabaj was a Materials Research Engineer in the Durability, Damage Tolerance, and Reliability (DDTR) Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. During his four-year tenure in the DDTR Branch, Dr. Czabaj was actively involved in the development of experimental methods for characterization of fracture and delamination in tape laminate composites, characterization of healable- and carbon-nanotube composites, and modeling of constituent level deformation and damage in graphite/epoxy composites. Dr. Czabaj received his doctorate in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University in 2010, and bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University in 2004.

Dr. Dan Adams is an emeritus professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, and directed the Utah Composites Laboratory for 22 years prior to his retirement in 2020. Dr. Adams’ research interests include the mechanics of composite materials and structures, including test method development, composite damage assessment, and crashworthiness. Dr. Adams is currently vice president of Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT). He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wyoming, and has a combined 40 years of academic/industry experience in the composite materials field. Dr. Adams is the recipient of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 1999 and the University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. He currently serves as vice-chair of ASTM Committee D30 on Composite Materials and co-chair of the Testing Committee for the Composite Materials Handbook (CMH-17).

Mr. Jeff Kessler is the UCL Lab Manager and Mechanical Engineer. Jeff has over 25 years’ experience with composites testing, test method research, and lab management. Mr. Kessler’s responsibilities include day to day management of the lab facilities; selection, installation, inspection and maintenance of lab instruments and equipment; training of lab users; and performance of a numerous types of mechanical tests and non-destructive inspection on a wide variety of materials. Prior to joining the UCL, Jeff filled the same role at the University of Wyoming’s Composite Materials Research Group working for Dr. Donald Adams. At both institutions, Jeff developed testing and specimen fabrication techniques and performed tests on advanced composite materials, industrial composites, neat resins, as well as conventional and novel metals. Mr. Kessler also worked for Hercules Aerospace Company as a Test Engineer 1984-1986 immediately after graduation from University of Wyoming with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Britannia Vondrasek is a postdoctoral researcher at the Utah Composites Laboratory. Her work is primarily supported by the NASA Space Technologies Research Institute (STRI) for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP). Dr. Vondrasek defended her PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2020. Her doctoral research focused on characterization and simulation of ionic polysulfones for desalination membrane applications. She is interested in pedagogy, and previously enjoyed teaching Aerospace Engineering and Intro to Engineering Design at the Arvin Education Center. She also completed an MRes in Nanomaterials at Imperial College London, focusing on bio-inspired design of layered nanocomposites as part of the High Performance Ductile Composite Technology (HiPerDuCT) project. Dr. Vondrasek obtained her BS in Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech. Some of her other research experience includes characterization of carbon nanotube yarns for aerospace applications, FTIR characterization of hydrated polyelectrolytes, electrospinning of nanofibers for polymer-polymer composite sensors, and testing of carbon fiber composites in extreme environments for naval applications.

1: Creveling PJ, Fisher J, Dahlkamp C, Czabaj MW. Modeling as-manufactured fiber-reinforced microstructures based on X-ray microcomputed tomography. Composites Science and Technology. 2021; (in review).
2: French J, Dahlkamp C, Befus, E., Czabaj M. 4D in-situ imaging of materials subjected to in-plane biaxial loading using X-ray micro-computed tomography. Composites Science and Technology. 2021; (in review).
3: French J, Dahlkamp C, Czabaj M. Formation of cryobiaxial-induced damage in tape-laminate composites. Composite Structures. 2020 Mar 1;235:111816.

1:Brajavich, B., Sievert, Z., Adams, D., Czabaj, M. Development of the instrumented wedge test for mode I fracture of adhesively bonded PMCs. (in preparation).

1: Fisher J, Czabaj MW. A new test for characterization of interlaminar tensile strength of tape-laminate composites. Composites Part A. 2023 (accepted).
2: Creveling PJ, Fisher J, Dahlkamp C, Czabaj MW. Modeling as-manufactured fiber-reinforced microstructures based on X-ray microcomputed tomography. Composites Science and Technology. 2021; 2014.
3: Creveling PJ, Fisher J, LeBaron N, Czabaj MW. 4D Imaging of ceramic matrix composites during polymer infiltration and pyrolysis. Acta Materialia. 2020; 201:547-60.

1: Young D, Vondrasek B, Czabaj MW. Machine Learning Guided Design of Experiments to Accelerate Exploration of a Material Extrusion Process Parameter Space. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (accepted).
2: Young D, Wetmore N, Czabaj M. Interlayer fracture toughness of additively manufactured unreinforced and carbon-fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Additive Manufacturing. 2018; 22:508-15

1: Creveling PJ, Fisher J, Dahlkamp C, Czabaj MW. Modeling as-manufactured fiber-reinforced microstructures based on X-ray microcomputed tomography. Composites Science and Technology. 2021; 2014.
2: Creveling PJ, Fisher J, LeBaron N, Czabaj MW. 4D Imaging of ceramic matrix composites during polymer infiltration and pyrolysis. Acta Materialia. 2020; 201:547-60.
3: Creveling PJ, Whitacre WW, Czabaj MW. A fiber-segmentation algorithm for composites imaged using X-ray microtomography: Development and validation. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 2019; 126:105606.

1: Allott NR, Czabaj MW. Characterization of the interlaminar shear strength of IM7/8552 using small-scale short beam shear tests. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 2021; 142:106200.

1: French J, Dahlkamp C, Befus, E., Czabaj M. 4D in-situ imaging of materials subjected to in-plane biaxial loading using X-ray micro-computed tomography. Composites Science and Technology. 2021; (in review).
2: French J, Dahlkamp C, Czabaj M. Formation of cryobiaxial-induced damage in tape-laminate composites. Composite Structures. 2020; 235:111816.
3: French J, Christensen J, Mollenhauer D, Czabaj M. A combined experimental and numerical approach for characterizing ply-level damage in tape-laminate composites subjected to biaxial loading. Composite Structures. 2019; Vol. 224:111062.

1: Audd C, Davidson BD, Ratcliffe JG, Czabaj MW. Reexamination of the edge crack torsion test for determining the mode III delamination toughness of laminated composites. Engineering Fracture Mechanics. 2019; 215:138-50.

1: Arndt CM, De Carvalho NV, Czabaj MW. Experimental reexamination of transverse tensile strength for IM7/8552 tape-laminate composites. Journal of Composite Materials. 2020; 54(23):3297-312.

1: Zhao D, Matheson KE, Phung BR, Petruzza S, Czabaj MW, Spear AD. Investigating the effect of grain structure on compressive response of open-cell metal foam using high-fidelity crystal-plasticity modeling. Materials Science and Engineering: A. 2021: 140847.
2: Matheson KE, Cross KK, Nowell MM, Spear AD. A multiscale comparison of stochastic open-cell aluminum foam produced via conventional and additive-manufacturing routes. Materials Science and Engineering: A. 2017;707:181-92.