Background and History:
The Southern Society for Experimental Mechanics Student Symposium (SSEMSS) is a new regional symposium event that started in 2024. It aims to provide a vital platform for students to present their research and foster professional connections and collaborations in the areas of mechanics, materials, and structures, with a particular emphasis on experimental mechanics. This includes developing new experimental methods, discovering new physics, and improving our current state-of-the-art materials and structures. Historically, similar symposia have been held in other regions in the United States such as the Midwest Mechanics Symposium and the Southeastern area, but southern states lacked local access to such opportunities. With growing research activities in experimental mechanics within these southern states, the need for a dedicated regional symposium has become clear.
Building on the success of the 2024 Southern Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM) Student Symposium at Louisiana State University, the 2025 SEM Student Symposium will take place on May 13-14, 2025 at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to oral and/or poster presentations, this symposium will feature a tour of UT-Austin’s Texas Materials Institute experimental facilities, and a social event on May 13 evening.
We look forward to hosting you in Austin next month after final exams!
Date & Location:
May 13-14, 2025 (May 13 afternoon 1 pm — May 14 afternoon 3 pm)
The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Abstract Submission Link:
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Highlighted Features:lank line
- This workshop is focused on experimental mechanics and provides a unique platform for students to network, share work, and gain exposure early in their careers. Computational and non-experimental mechanics scholars and students are also welcomed.
- This workshop is totally FREE — no registration fees. We provide complimentary meals: a social hour on May 13, and breakfast and lunch on May 14.
- All student presenters will receive a one-year free SEM membership.
- In addition to oral and/or poster presentations, this symposium will feature a tour of UT-Austin’s Texas Materials Institute experimental facilities on May 14.
We have reserved a limited number of hotel rooms for the night of May 13.
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Shailendra Joshi
Kalsi Associate Professor | Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering | University of Houston
Shailendra Joshi is Kalsi Associate Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Houston (UH). Prior to joining UH, he was an associate professor at the National University of Singapore (2008-2018). During 2005-2008, he was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2002. After a short stint as a visiting scientist at the University of Stuttgart (2002), he worked as a research engineer at GE-India Technology Center in Bangalore, India (2003-2005). His research interest is in understanding, modeling and controlling material responses through the mechanics of defects and failure processes at multiple length-scales and time-scales.
Prof. Kshitiz Upadhyay
Assistant Professor | Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering | Louisiana State University
Kshitiz Upadhyay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University, where he directs the Soft Materials Mechanics Laboratory. His research lies broadly in the mechanics of soft materials, with emphasis on constitutive modeling, experimental solid mechanics, data-driven methods, and injury biomechanics. Current projects in Dr. Upadhyay’s lab are supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Louisiana Board of Regents (LABoR). He received the 2022 Early Career Research Award from the World Council of Biomechanics for his work on the mechanics of the human brain. Before joining LSU, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute at Johns Hopkins University (2020–2022). He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida (2020, 2019), and a B.Tech. from the National Institute of Technology–Bhopal, India (2014).
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Agenda
This event will happen between May 13 afternoon 1 pm — May 14 afternoon 3 pm. A detailed event program PDF including agenda and abstracts can be downloaded here.
Maps & Hotels
Maps
The University of Texas at Austin (Event will happen in EER 3.646)
Parking
If you bring a vehicle to campus, we suggest parking in one of the nearby university garages.
The closest garages to the EER building are the San Jacinto Garage (2401 San Jacinto Blvd., Austin, TX 78705) or the Speedway Garage (105 E. 27 th St, Austin, TX 78712).
The closest garages to the Moxy Hotel are the Speedway Garage (105 E. 27 th St, Austin, TX 78712) and the 27th Street Garage (109 W 27th St, Austin, TX 78712).
See a walking map from these garages to EER here.
Hotels in the Area
AT&T Hotel and Conference Center
Moxy Austin – University
AC Hotel Austin – University
Hampton Inn & Suites – University/Capitol
We have reserved a limited number of hotel rooms for the night of May 13.
Attending Universities
Symposium Organizers
- Prof. Jin Yang | Assistant Professor | Department of Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics| The University of Texas at Austin
- Prof. Kshitiz Upadhyay | Assistant Professor | Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering | Louisiana State University
- ASE/EM staff events coordinator: Libby Spencer
- TMI Associate Director: Dr. Raluca Gearba-Dolocan, Hugo Celio, Andrei Colocan
- EER Building managers: Brittney Moore, Jim Smitherman, Jason Pannell
- Cockrell School of Engineering graduate students coordinators:
- Junyoung Kim: 1st year ASE PhD student. His research investigates evaporation-induced cavitation (EIC) in plant systems and synthetic cell-mimicking gels, with a focus on the coupled effects of temperature and pressure extremes.
- Jacob Baker: 3rd year BME PhD student. He is working on the laser-induced cavitation for drug delivery project.
- Dan Frolkin: 2nd year ASE Master student. He is working on laser-induced cavitation in gradient materials, dynamic fracture.
- Sicong Wang: 2nd year EM PhD student. He is working on laser-induced cavitation in non-homogeneous, anisotropic biomaterials.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the great support from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), the Society for Experimental Mechanics Education Foundation (SEMEF), Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (ASE/EM), Texas Materials Institute (TMI), Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures and Materials (CMSSM), National Science Foundation (NSF CMMI-2232428, 2441460)
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