Faculty Directory

Biography

Dr. Leslie Lamberson is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and a Ben L. Fryrear Endowed Chair for Innovation and Excellence. She earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a B.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Michigan, an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology under Professor Ares Rosakis. In 2024, she completed an M.B.A. with the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School as a Forte Fellow, further enhancing her leadership in innovation and interdisciplinary research. 

Leslie’s career spans academia, industry, and government, including roles as a Lockheed Martin “Skunk Works” engineer, a NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow specializing in materials and structures for extreme environments, and a postdoctoral research scholar with K.T. Ramesh at Johns Hopkins University. Before joining Mines, she was the P.C. Chou Assistant Professor at Drexel University, holding appointments in both Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. 

A former board member of the American Society for Composites (ASC) and the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM), Leslie currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Strain (Wiley). A recipient of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award and the NSF CAREER Award, her research focuses on the mechanics of materials under extreme conditions, impact physics, and advanced optical metrology and inverse techniques. She continues to drive innovative research and leadership, addressing critical challenges in aerospace, defense, and materials science, while educating the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Research

• Dynamic Behavior of Materials 
• Impact Physics
• Full-Field Metrology Techniques and Inverse Methods
• Intersections of Innovation and Engineering

Labs & Research Centers

• XSTRM Lab
• Panther Program Lab

Publications

• Pittman, E. R., Clarke, A. J., & Lamberson, L. E. (2024). A Method for Dynamic Kolsky Bar Compression at High Temperatures: Application to Ti-6Al-4V. Experimental Techniques, 1-17.  DOI: 10.1007/s40799-024-00762-5
• Mendoza, I., & Lamberson, L. (2024). Damage tolerancing in carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates under combined impact fatigue and environmental conditioning. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 180, 108062.  DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2024.108062
• Mendoza, I., Will-Cole, A., & Lamberson, L. (2023). The Mechanics of Dance: Using Parametric Equations as Inspiration for Dance Choreography. Creativity Research Journal, 35(1), 33-43.  DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2021.2005858
• Morton, J., Hodges, G., Pankow, M., & Lamberson, L. (2023). Hypervelocity impact investigations of composite truss tubes for in orbit assembly risk assessment. Journal of Composite Materials, 00219983241292787.  DOI: 10.1177/00219983241292
• Zhao, X., Sokol, M., Barsoum, M. W., & Lamberson, L. (2021). Effect of grain orientation on the compressive response of highly oriented MAX phase Ti3SiC2. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 809, 140869.  DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2021.140869
• S. Koumlis, L. Lamberson (2019). Strain Rate Dependent Compressive Response of Open Cell Polyurethane Foam, Experimental Mechanics, (59), Issue 7, 1087-1103.   DOI: 10.1007/s11340-019-00521-3