Tehrani Group in Action: STEM Outreach and Composites Research on Display
The Tehrani Group recently engaged with communities near and far, hosting 100 fifth-grade students from Torrey Pines Elementary School for a hands-on introduction to composite materials and STEM careers, while also showcasing cutting-edge research facilities and graduate student work to industry and academic attendees at the Thermoplastic Composites Conference. These events reflect the group's ongoing commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers and fostering meaningful collaboration between academia and industry.

Enrique Simbort Zeballos Wins National Recognition for Dam Seismic Resilience Research
Enrique G. Simbort Zeballos, a Ph.D. candidate advised by Prof. Joel P. Conte, earned 3rd Place in the 2026 Kim de Rubertis Student Scholarship Awards, presented by the United States Society on Dams (USSD) at its Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. His award-winning research, "A Bayesian Digital Twin Framework for Seismic Resilience of Dams," combines advanced computational models with real-time monitoring data to improve seismic safety assessments and support better decision-making for critical water infrastructure.

Kyoungyeon Lee Receives Best Teaching Assistant Award
Congratulations to Kyoungyeon Lee, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate advised by Prof. Georgios Tsampras, on receiving the Department of Structural Engineering's Best Teaching Assistant Award. Recognized for exceptional work as a TA for SE 130B: Structural Analysis during Spring 2025, Yeon is passionate about helping students achieve clarity in challenging concepts and believes that truly understanding students' perspectives is the key to effective teaching.

SE 143 Aerospace Structures Capstone: From Concept to Certification
Under the guidance of Prof. John Kosmatka and the SE 143 instruction team, three undergraduate teams spent the year designing, building, and testing composite aircraft wings for a single-seat personal aircraft. Working from a real Request for Proposal and a baseline inspired by the classic BD-5 micro-jet, each team carried their wing through six formal aerospace-style design reviews— from initial concept all the way to FAA-style certification testing.

Professor Lelli Van Den Einde's SE 3 Class Engineers a Way to Catch Pokémon
This spring, Prof. Lelli Van Den Einde's SE 3 students traded textbooks for a Pokémon-inspired design challenge — building structures in SolidWorks and 3D printing them into working prototypes capable of catching Pokémon in the Kanto region. The quarter culminated in a live final design competition, where teams demonstrated their creativity, teamwork, and engineering skills in action.

Visiting Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Armin Buchroithner Joins ARMOR Lab Through Austrian Academy of Sciences Fellowship
Dr. Armin Buchroithner was recently awarded the prestigious Max Kade Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, securing funding for a 1-year research stay, beginning September 1, 2026, at the Active, Responsive, Multifunctional, and Ordered-materials Research (ARMOR) Lab to collaborate with Professor Ken Loh.

Professor Lanza di Scalea and Ali Hosseinzadeh Receive 2026 ASNT Research Fellowship Award
Professor Francesco Lanza di Scalea and PhD candidate Ali Hosseinzadeh have received the prestigious 2026 ASNT Research Fellowship Award, one of only a handful given out nationally each year. Their proposal will advance passive acoustic interferometry, a low-cost technique for monitoring structural health in bridges, buildings, and aircraft using ambient vibrations instead of controlled excitation. The team will be honored at the ASNT Annual Conference this October in Columbus, OH.

SE 207 Timber Design Competition Brings Students and Industry Together at UC San Diego
Some days in academia transcend the classroom. March 13, 2026 was one of them. The SE 207 Advanced Timber Design Conference and Competition brought together students, faculty, and industry leaders for a full day of innovation, passion, and human connection — culminating in what Professor Alessandro Palermo called the defining moment of his career at UC San Diego.

Making Mechanics Click: Ali Zare Hosseinzadeh Earns Outstanding TA Award
Ali Zare Hosseinzadeh, a PhD candidate in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego working with Distinguished Professor Francesco Lanza di Scalea, has received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the Department of Structural Engineering. The award recognizes Ali's sustained contributions to teaching across multiple undergraduate and graduate courses — supporting large classes and diverse groups of students while helping deliver core material in structural engineering and mechanics.

A Scholar Invested in the Profession: Charlie Zhang Wins SEAOSD Scholarship
Jiachen (Charlie) Zhang, a PhD candidate in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego, has been awarded the 2026 SEAOSD Scholarship by the Structural Engineers Association of San Diego — a recognition granted annually to students at UCSD and SDSU who demonstrate academic achievement, professional engagement, and a commitment to careers in structural engineering.