Mechanical Engineering Prof Wins Young Investigator Award

October 3, 2018


Society of Experimental Mechanics recognizes Dr. Jamie Kimberley for service and research achievements

 

SOCORRO, N.M. – The Society for Experimental Mechanics has named Dr. Jamie Kimberley of New Mexico Tech the J.W. Dally Young Investigator of the Year, one of the top awards in the field.

Dr. Kimberley is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico Tech. His research interests focus on the experimental characterization of materials subjected to high-rate loading, and the development of models describing the associated material response.

Jamie Kimberley portraitThe Society’s website summarizes Kimberley’s work: “Research topics have spanned serval orders of magnitude in length scale: from the impact response of micro-electromechanical systems (micron scale) to asteroid disruption studies (kilometer scale). His current topics of interest focus on problems of dynamic micromechanics in coupled materials systems, such as mechanoluminescent materials and reactive material systems.”

“I was a little bit shocked,” Kimberley said. “It’s a big honor to receive. I look at the prior winners and I hold them in high esteem.”

Kimberley has been involved with the Society for Experimental Mechanics since his time in graduate school. He recently finished a term as chair of a technical division that organizes topics for SEM conferences.

“This award provides a bit of recognition for the great work that gets done at New Mexico Tech and the quality of faculty and students we have,” he said. “It also speaks to the support for research and teaching activities we have at Tech.”

Dr. Andrei Zagrai, chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department, said, “I think this award really brings recognition that our department is among the top departments in the nation. He’s also participated in service activities for the Society for quite some time. He truly deserves this award.”

Kimberley’s major project is the development of improved armor materials for vehicles and personnel. He is collaborating with U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Johns Hopkins University and several other universities. That project is supporting a graduate student and two undergraduates at NMT.

Kimberley is currently on sabbatical from teaching. He is continuing his research with colleagues at ARL, Johns Hopkins, Drexel University, and Penn State.

Kimberley was selected for the award for his “significant contributions to education in the field of experimental mechanics and research in the field of high strain-rate and impact response with a focus on brittle materials.”

He received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his master’s in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. He then completed a post-doc fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Kimberley is the fourth winner of the Young Investigator Award. The namesake of the award, Dr. James W. Dally, P.E., is internationally recognized for seminal contributions to the development of experimental methods for studying dynamic fracture mechanics and stress wave propagation problems; for academic leadership; and for developing innovative teaching materials and textbooks for undergraduate and graduate education.

Since his retirement from active teaching and research at the University of Maryland, College Park, Dally is an engineering consultant for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and manages College House Enterprises (Knoxville, Tenn.), a niche publisher of engineering textbooks.

– NMT –