Dr. Richard D. Young
Project Manager, NASA Langley Research Center
Richard Young is a Project Manager at NASA Langley Research Center. Currently, he manages the Advanced Composites Project, within the Advanced Air Vehicles Program, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. Prior to becoming a Project Manager, for 15 years he conducted research at NASA in structural concepts for multi-functional and adaptive structures and in the structural integrity of composite and metallic structural components with damage.
Richard received BS degrees in Physics and Mechanical Engineering, and his PhD in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech in 1996 while working at NASA.
Dr. David Mollenhauer
Air Force Research Laboratory
Currently employed in the Composites Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr. David Mollenhauer is the technical lead for composite damage evolution research in the branch. Dr. Mollenhauer’s in-house research duties include strategic and financial planning and execution of technical efforts in development of state of the art mechanics modeling methods for damage evolution in laminated and textile composites. He is a recognized world expert in OMC damage modeling and experimental mechanics of composites. In addition to in-house technical research, Dr. Mollenhauer is the Directorate’s Application Area lead for Efficient Aerostructures. This job function incorporates program management of external efforts in developing advanced experimental/numerical methods for simulation of composite material behavior, planning Directorate efforts in Composite Certification, and serving as the Directorate’s liaison to the larger composite certification community. Dr. Mollenhauer is an active member of the American Society for Composites and is currently a Member-at-Large. Finally, Dr. Mollenhauer is known for his STEM education motivation efforts via his personal research and development of a large composite catapult system designed to throw pumpkins as far as possible. His team is currently in possession of the world record distance shot (1,151 meters) from a mechanical catapult.
EDUCATION
1997 Ph.D. Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Tech
1994 M.S. Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Tech
1990 B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University
Professor Uday Vaidya
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Lab
Uday Vaidya has a joint appointment with The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Oak Ridge National Lab. He is the UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing. Vaidya serves as the Chief Technology Officer for IACMI. He serves as the Director of the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Center at UT, and leads several composites activities at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Vaidya has 30 years of experience in a broad range of composites for defense, transportation and industrial applications. Vaidya is the author of the book Composites for Automotive, Truck and Mass Transit.
Dr. Yapa Rajapakse
Program Manager, Solid Mechanics, Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Dr. Rajapakse is currently Program Manager, Solid Mechanics, Office of Naval Research (ONR). The major focus of the Solid Mechanics Program is research on Marine Composites and Composite Sandwich Structures. Dr. Rajapakse received a Ph. D. degree in Applied Mechanics, under the guidance of the late Professor J. N. Goodier, and a M. S. degree in Mathematics, from Stanford University.
He has been elected Fellow of four technical societies: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Engineering Science (SES), American Academy of Mechanics (AAM), and American Society for Composites (ASC). He has served on the Editorial Boards of eight technical journals, including Composites Science and Technology, Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials, Journal of Composite Materials, and Composites- Part B. Dr. Rajapakse has served as President, Vice-president, Member of Board of Directors, of SES. He has served as Chairman of the Composite Materials Committee of the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME, and of the Polymer-Matrix Composites Division of ASC.
He has delivered numerous Plenary/Keynote presentations at national and International conferences. He has edited/coedited 35 books, including recently: “Dynamic Failure of Materials and Structures,” “Blast Mitigation: Experimental and Numerical Studies,” “Durability of Composites in a Marine Environment II,” and ” Explosion Blast Response of Composites.”