Team
ARMOR LAB DIRECTOR
Ken Loh, Ph.D.
TaylorMade Golf Chancellor's Endowed Professor
Professor and former Vice Chair of Structural Engineering
Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
Director of Center for Extreme Events Research (CEER)
Office: SME 445E
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (2008)
M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (2008)
M.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (2005)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University (2004)
Interests: Navy, entrepreneurship, anything with wheels, cooking, eating, and travel
PH.D. STUDENTS
Shih-Chao Huang
Ph.D. Student in Structural Engineering, SHM&NDE, UC San Diego
M.S. in Structural Engineering with Specialization in SHM&NDE, UC San Diego (2022)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan (2021)
Research: Machine learning methods for enhancing human athletic performance
ORCiD: 0009-0008-4571-9226
Contact: shh027@ucsd.edu
Adam J. Kreutter
M.S. Student in Structural Engineering, SHM&NDE, UC San Diego
M.S. in Structural Engineering with Specialization in SHM&NDE, UC San Diego (2023)
Project Management Professional Certification, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University (2017)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Marquette University (2010)
Research: Construction site and worker safety monitoring using ambient sensing streams
ORCiD: 0009-0007-2376-7654
Interests: Rugby and rugby coaching
Yun-An (Ann) Lin
Ph.D. Candidate in Structural Engineering, SHM&NDE, UC San Diego
M.S. in Structural Engineering with Specialization in SHM&NDE, UC San Diego (2020)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan (2018)
Research: Wearable nanocomposite sensors for tactical and athletic performance monitoring and enhancement
ORCiD: 0000-0001-9440-6164
Contact: yul095@ucsd.edu
Interests: Home improvement, fashion, fitness, memes, and boba tea
Vishnu Naidu
Ph.D. Student in Materials Science & Engineering, UC San Diego
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University
Graduate Diploma in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Univ. of The Witwatersrand, South Africa
B.E. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Durban-Westville, South Africa
Research: Metamaterial passive wearable sensors for emergency response
ORCiD: 0009-0007-2789-316X
Taylor Pierce
Ph.D. Student in Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC San Diego
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, UC Davis (2020)
Research: Field-deployable, wireless on-body sensors for physiological, proximity, and environmental monitoring
Interests: San Diego Padres, wildlife, and Starcraft 2
Contact: tpierce@ucsd.edu
Elijah Wyckoff
Ph.D. Student in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico (2022)
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University (2020)
Research: Enhancing physical therapy and rehabilitation using Motion Tape wearable sensors
ORCiD: 0000-0002-8467-2984
Xinyi Yang
Ph.D. Student in Materials Science & Engineering, UC San Diego
M.S. in BioEngineering, UC San Diego (2021)
B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (2020)
Research: Wearable sensors for biomedical applications
ORCiD: 0009-0003-2572-4988
M.S. STUDENTS
Yen-Hsun (Daniel) Chou
M.S. Student in Structural Engineering, SHM&NDE, UC San Diego
M.S. in Structural Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan (2023)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Tamkang University, Taiwan (2021)
Research: Wearable sensors for human performance enhancement
Danh Mai Vu Tue
M.S. Student in Structural Engineering, SHM&NDE, UC San Diego
B.S. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering, VinUniversity (est 2025)
Research: Multifunctional wearable sensors
Interests: Playing table tennis, playing pool, Asian foods, and travel
Ashwin Swaminathan
M.S. Student in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC San Diego
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, India (2022)
Research: Next-generation ankle braces
Stefan Venne
Visiting M.S. Student in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego
B.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2023)
Research: Smart and adaptive prosthetics
FORMER PH.D. STUDENTS
Dr. Bryan Loyola, Product Technical Lead, Meta
Senior Mechanical Engineering, Microsoft
Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Labs (Livermore, CA)
Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2012)
M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2010)
Prof. Donghyeon Ryu, Associate Professor, New Mexico Institute of Technology (Socorro, NM)
Assistant Professor, New Mexico Institute of Technology
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, UC Davis (2014)
M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2014)
Thesis: Multi-modal, Self-sensing, and Photoactive Structural Coatings for Sustainable Infrastructures
Prof. Faezeh Azhari, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto (Canada)
Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering, UC Davis (2016)
Thesis: Sensor Development and Response Analysis for Bridge Scour Monitoring and Prognosis
Prof. Bo Mi Lee, Assistant Professor, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Post-Doctoral Scholar in Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Central Florida
Post-Doctoral Scholar in Computer Science, UC Davis
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2019)
Thesis: Model-enabled Design of Nanostructured Thin Film Sensors
Dr. Sumit Gupta, R&D Associate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2020)
M.S. in Civil Engineering, UC Davis (2016)
Thesis: Multifunctional Nanocomposite-Enabled Tomographic Imaging for Structural and Human Health Monitoring
Prof. Long Wang, Assistant Professor, California State Univ - San Luis Obispo
Post-Doctoral Scholar in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2019)
M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2016)
M.S. in Civil Engineering, UC Davis (2015)
Thesis: Development of Multifunctional Nanocomposite Sensing Systems for Structural and Human Health Monitoring
Dr. Yingjun (Irene) Zhao-Duboc, Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin
Post-Doctoral Scholar in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego
ORISE Post-Doctoral Fellow, DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence (EACE), Naval Medical Center San Diego
Ph.D. in Mechatronics, Johannes Kepler University, Austria, and co-advised with Prof. Martin Schagerl (2018)
M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis (2015)
M.S. in Civil Engineering, UC Davis (2011)
Thesis: Inkjet-Printed Carbon Nanotube Thin Films for Spatial Damage Sensing on Lightweight-Designed Structures
Dr. Han Joo Lee, Senior Scientist, ASML
Post-Doctoral Scholar in Microsystems Technology Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering, UC San Diego (2021)
Thesis: The Development of Soft Actuation and Selective Control Methods through Vaporization
Dr. Morgan L. Funderburk, Studio Manager, Breathe Degrees
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, UC San DIego (2021)
M.S. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2018)
Thesis: Development of Passive and Active Piezoelectric Scour Depth Monitoring Sensors
Dr. Said Quqa, Assistant Professor, University of Bologna (Italy)
Visiting Post-Doctoral Scholar in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2022)
Ph.D. in Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy, and co-advised with Prof. Luca Landi and Prof. Pier Paolo Diotallevi (2022)
B.S. and M.S. in Architecture and Building Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy (2017)
Thesis: Exploiting the Environment for Structural Health Monitoring: Strategies, Algorithms, and Technologies
Dr. Yening Shu, CAE Analysis Engineer, Vehicle Engineering Sector, Tesla
Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2023)
M.S. in Structural Engineering, UC San Diego (2018)
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Hunan University, China (2016)
Thesis: Electrical Tomographic Methods for Defects Detection in Advanced Structures
Dr. Yujin Park, Hardware Engineer, Component Quality & Technology, Cisco
Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering, UC San Diego (2023)
M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Pusan National University, South Korea (2018)
B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Pusan National University, South Korea (2015)
Thesis: The Design of Mechanical Metamaterials for Nonlinear-Elastic Functional Structures and Surface Morphing