John Lambros named new Director of AMTEL

2/20/2018 Mike Koon and Debra Levey Larson

Written by Mike Koon and Debra Levey Larson

John Lambros
John Lambros
Aerospace Engineering Professor John Lambros has been named the new Director of the Advanced Materials Testing and Evaluation Laboratory (AMTEL) at the University of Illinois.

Lambros’ research focuses on multi-length and multi-time scale experimentation and characterization of material response under static, dynamic, and fatigue loading.

“The nature of his research, which uses advanced materials testing and evaluation techniques, not only gives him familiarity with the current capabilities of AMTEL, but a good understanding for how to develop the lab in the future,” says Tamer Başar, interim dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois.

Başar goes on to say that Lambros is an outstanding teacher and internationally renowned researcher. “Twice in the last five years, he has received the Society of Experimental Mechanics M. Hetenyi Award for the best paper in the journal Experimental Mechanics. In 2017, he also garnered SEM’s P.S. Theocaris Award, which recognizes a senior individual for distinguished, innovative and outstanding work in optical methods and experimental mechanics.”

Lambros is a Fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics, of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

“John is also known for his positive influence on his students,” Başar says. “In 2015, he earned the University of Illinois Campus Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching Award. He has been responsible for introducing innovative graduate level courses on such topics such as fracture mechanics and dynamic response of materials. As the Associate Head for Graduate Studies in Aerospace Engineering, he was influential in the development of the department’s online master’s degree. John has been recognized by Engineering Council for his Excellence in Advising multiple times and has repeatedly made the campus’ list of teachers rated as excellent. His classroom innovation has been recognized even more broadly as the recipient of the 2015 Society of Experimental Mechanics Frocht Award for Excellence in Mechanics Teaching.”

Lambros’ leadership has included a six-year tenure as Principal Investigator of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative for Design of Adaptive Load Mitigating Materials Using Nonlinear Stress Wave Tailoring. Funded by the United States Army, the center included faculty members from Illinois, Caltech and ETH Zurich. He has also served on the Executive Board of the Society of Experimental Mechanics, where he is currently vice-president, and as Technical Director of the Air Force-funded Midwest Structural Sciences Center.

AMTEL is an internationally recognized state-of-the-art interdisciplinary facility that conducts projects from fields like applied physics, solid mechanics, dynamics, and controls. It brings together faculty on our campus and beyond to solve challenges in environment, health, manufacturing, defense, transportation, and others.


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This story was published February 20, 2018.