CREATE

Architected structures by design.

Designing structures whose behavior is controlled by geometry, topology, and mechanics.

Current work on additively manufactured architected materials.

Additively manufactured architected material specimens

UNDERSTAND

From local response to structural behavior.

Using validated computational models to explain how local deformation develops into global response under dynamic loading.

Experimental observations and numerical predictions of woven fabric under impact

PROTECT

Mechanics for safer systems.

Translating impact mechanics into protective systems that perform reliably under realistic loading conditions.

Vehicle crash test and corresponding finite element model

Computational & Experimental Structural Mechanics

The Palta Lab studies how structures are designed, how they respond to complex loading, and how mechanics can be used to make them safer. Our work combines computational mechanics, experiments, and structural design, with current interests in architected materials, dynamic and extreme loading, and protective structural systems.

Selected Publications

2026

Iso-energetic ballistic response of meso-scale woven fabrics
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 326, 111910.

2025

Experimental and Numerical Crashworthiness Evaluation of Two-Bar Bridge Rails
Engineering Structures, 340, 120753.

2025

Investigation of dynamic impact behavior of bighorn sheep horn
International Journal of Solids and Structures, 307, 113133.

2019

On a multi-scale finite element model for evaluating the ballistic performance of multi-ply woven fabrics
Composite Structures, 217, 488–508.

TEACHING

Learning through design and testing

I use project-based learning to help students move from equations to engineering decisions. In courses such as Statics and Dynamics, students design, build, predict, test, and explain the behavior of physical systems.