Our Team
Dr. Margherita Capriotti
(PI)
Dr. Capriotti joined San Diego State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the Fall of 2020. She is the Director of the NDE Research Clinic, and is affiliated with the CSRC.
Outreach & Service: member Women in Engineering (WE), co-advisor WoAA at SDSU; Chair AE DEI Committee.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2020, Mayo Clinic Department of Radiology (Ultrasound Research Lab)
Ph.D. Structural Engineering, 2019, University of California San Diego
(Experimental Mechanics & NDE Lab)
B.S., M.S. Mechanical Engineering, 2014, University of Parma (Italy)
Research Interests: Wave Propagation, Diagnostics, Ultrasonic Guided Waves, Infrared Thermography, Composite Materials, Biomedical Applications
Also Enjoys: experimenting in the kitchen, concerts
Mingyue Zhang
(Joint Doctoral Program Student, Aerospace Engineering)
Mingyue joined the NDE Research Clinic in the Fall of 2021 as a JDP student co-advised by Prof. Kim (UCSD).
M.S. Structural Engineering, 2021, University of California San Diego
B.S. Civil Engineering, 2019,
Hohai University (China).
Research Interests: Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Complex Structures, Analytical and Numerical Modeling of Ultrasonic Guided Waves, Prediction of Quantitative Structural Assessment.
Also Enjoys: Cooking, skiing, photography, Nintendo Switch games
Nathan Machak
(Research Assistant, Master Student, Aerospace Engineering)
Nathan joined the NDE Research Clinic in the Spring of 2021 as an undergraduate student and is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering. He is currently a Research Assistant in the Clinic.
M.S. Aerospace Engineering, expected 2023, San Diego State University
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, 2021, San Diego State University
Research Interests: Ultrasonics, C-scan testing, Signal Processing, Aerospace Structures, Composites
Also Enjoys: Ultimate Frisbee, Board Games/Video Games, Cooking, Music, Sports of any kind
Kalib Varela
(Master Student, Aerospace Engineering)
Kalib joined the NDE Research Clinic in the Fall 2020 and is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering.
M.S. Aerospace Engineering, expected 2023, San Diego State University
B.S. Physics, 2020, Wesleyan University (CT)
Research Interests: Ultrasonic Guided Waves, Defect Characterization in Composite Materials, Signal Processing
Also Enjoys: Biking, Hiking, Cars, Motorcycling
Thomas Stone
(Master Student, Computer Science)
Tommy joined the NDE Research Clinic in the Spring 2022 and is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in Computer Science. During his BS, he performed research under Dr. Farquharson studying river characteristics using remote sensing techniques.
M.S. Computer Science, expected 2023, San Diego State University
B.S. Physics, University of Washington (WA)
Research Interests: Wave Propagation in complex structures, Machine Learning, Ultrasonic Guided Waves, Ocean Acoustics
Also Enjoys: Reading science fiction/fantasy books (favorite book series: Isaac Asimov’s The Foundation), listening to a variety of different musical genres, playing guitar
Dr. Luis Escalona
(Lecturer, SDSU)
Luis joined the NDE Research Clinic to be involved and assist in NDE research. He is currently a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department at SDSU. During his Ph.D., he performed research under Prof. Venkataraman studying guided wave actuation using electrical resistance tomography.
Ph.D. Computer Science, Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University
M.S. Instrumentation, Universidad Central de Venezuela
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Carabobo (Venezuela)
Research Interests: Computational methods in NDE and SHM, Computational Modeling, High Performance Computing.
Also Enjoys: Artistic drawing, hiking
Kyle Huynh
(Undergraduate Student, Aerospace Engineering)
Kyle joined the NDE Research Clinic in Fall 2022 as an undergraduate student and is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering.
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, expected 2025, San Diego State University
Research Interests: Ultrasonic Guided Waves, Signal Processing, Aerospace Structures
Also Enjoys: Snowboarding, surfing, hiking, and listening to music
Paul DeStefano
(Undergraduate Student, Molecular and Cell Biology)
Paul joined the NDE Research Clinic in Spring 2023 as an undergraduate student in the Weber Honors College and will be pursuing a degree in Medicine.
B.S. Molecular and Cell Biology, expected 2026, San Diego State University
Research Interests: Shear Wave Elastography
Also Enjoys: Listening to music, skiing, going to the beach, spending time with friends
Ian Plant (Undergraduate Student, Aerospace Engineering)
Ian joined the NDE Research Clinic in Spring 2023 as an undergraduate student and is now pursuing his Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering.
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, expected 2026, San Diego State University
Research Interests: Material Properties Characterization, Ultrasonic Guided Waves
Also Enjoys: Music festivals, concerts, and the beach
Alumni
Mark Smeets – currently JDP Student, Mechanical Engineering, SDSU
M.S. Aerospace Engineering (2022), Thesis: “Impact Damage Characterization in Composite Aerospace Structures Using Thermal Signal Reconstruction”
Alexander Donabedian – currently Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Purdue
IMSD student, undergraduate research: “Theoretical calculation of ultrasonic scattering coefficients to maximize ultrasonics inspection of composite laminates”