Faculty Profile

Francesco Lanza di Scalea

Professor, Structural Engineering

Health Monitoring, Non-Destructive Evaluation and Experimental Mechanics of Materials and Structures.

Professor Lanza di Scalea directs the NDE and Structural Health Monitoring Laboratory where he develops novel testing and diagnostics technologies to assess the properties of materials and structures. His specialties include: solid mechanics, structural dynamics, strain measurements, linear and nonlinear wave propagation, ultrasonic testing, acoustic emission testing, infrared thermographic testing, smart sensing technologies and digital signal processing applied to Health Monitoring, Non-Destructive Evaluation and Experimental Mechanics problems. Specific applications of these studies include: railroad tracks, prestressed concrete and steel bridges, composite aerospace structures, and composite wind turbine blades. His research has been funded by a variety of State and Federal Agencies, including the US Federal Railroad Administration, the US National Science Foundation, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the US Department of State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the California Department of Transportation. Prof. Lanza di Scalea came to UC San Diego in 1999 and became Full Professor in 2007 at the age of 37.

Capsule Bio:

Prior to joining UC San Diego in 1999, Lanza di Scalea received a Laurea Degree “Summa Cum Laude” in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Palermo in Italy in 1993, a Master of Science Degree as a Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Mechanics from Michigan State University in 1996, and a Ph.D. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Palermo in 1997. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for NDE of the Johns Hopkins University during 1998-1999. He is currently a Full Professor of Structural Engineering and the Director of the NDE & Structural Health Monitoring Laboratory at UC San Diego. Among his professional achievements, Prof. Lanza di Scalea was awarded the UC San Diego Hellman Faculty Fellow Award (2 times), the American Society for Nondestructive Testing Research Fellowship Award (3 times), the ASNT Faculty Grant Award, the Fulbright Scholarship, the “Structural Health Monitoring Person of the Year” Award, the “Best Teacher Award” from the Department of Structural Engineering, and various Best Paper Awards at scholarly conferences. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), and of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the following peer-reviewed journals: Experimental Mechanics, International Journal of Structural Health Monitoring, Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, Research in Nondestructive Evaluation, and ASME Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems. He also serves on the Railway Maintenance Committee (AR060) of the US National Transportation Research Board and on the Technical Advisory Committee of the National University Rail (NURail) Center of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In the past, he has served as an Expert on the Panel on Rail Safety Technologies for the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) for presentation to the US Congressional Committee on Rail Transportation.

Education:

·         Post-doctoral Fellow, Center for Non-destructive Evaluation, Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University (1998-1999)

·         Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy (1997)

·         M.S. and Fulbright Scholar, Engineering Mechanics, Michigan State University (1996)

·         Laurea (M.S.), Summa cum Laude, Mechanical Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy (1993)

 

Honors and Awards

  • Elected Fellow of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) for “contributions to the fields of non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring, particularly ultrasonic testing, acoustic emission testing and infrared thermography for quantitative damage detection” (2018).
  • Elected Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America “for contributions to the theory and applications of ultrasonic guided waves” (2016).
  • Elected Fellow of American Society of Nondestructive Testing (2016).
  • Best Paper Award, “Passive-only Defect Detection and Imaging in Composites Using Diffuse Fields” (with J. Tippmann), SEM Composites & Multifunctional Materials Technical Division, Annual Conference of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, Costa Mesa, CA (2015).
  • Best Paper Award, for paper “Non-contact Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection of Rails,” 9th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford University (2013).
  • Best Teacher Award, Department of Structural Engineering, UCSD – voted by graduating seniors (2010/11).
  • Plenary Speaker, Italian National Congress on Experimental Mechanics, Palermo, Italy (2010).
  • San Diego Regional Renewable Energy Technology Acceleration Program Award – through UCSD Von Liebig Center – “Structural Health Monitoring of Turbine Blades Using Advanced Infrared Thermography,” 2011 (with A. Manohar).
  • American Society for Nondestructive Testing Fellowship Research Award – “Stress Prediction Through Nonlinear Ultrasonics in Waveguides,” 2010.
  • Expert Panelist on Rail Safety Technologies, US Government Accountability Office – Physical Infrastructure for US Congressional Committee on Rail Transportation, 2010.
  • Structural Health Monitoring “Person of the Year Award” for “Outstanding Contributions to Structural Health Monitoring,” Editorial Board of International Journal of Structural Health Monitoring, 2007.
  • American Society for Nondestructive Testing Fellowship Research Award – “Built-in System for the Structural Health Monitoring of Adhesively-bonded Components in Aerospace Structures,” 2006.
  • American Society for Nondestructive Testing Fellowship Research Award – “Load Measurement and Health Monitoring in Cable Stays via Guided Wave Magnetostrictive Ultrasonics,” 2002.
  • American Society for Nondestructive Testing Faculty Grant Award – “Development of Undergraduate Course SE163: Nondestructive Evaluation,” 2003 (with V. Karbhari).
  • O-1 U.S. Immigration Status for “extraordinary ability in science” (1999-2006).
  • Hellman Faculty Fellowship, University of California San Diego, 2000/01 and 2002/03.
  • Second place award, International Student Paper Presentation Competition of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Spring Conference, 1997.
  • Italian Department of New Technology, Energy and Environment (ENEA) award for academic excellence, Rome, Italy, 1996.
  • Fulbright Scholarship, U.S. Institute of International Education,1995-1996.
  • COMETT European Union award for research experience in a foreign country, 1994.
  • “Giuseppe Manzella” Italian National Foundation award for best academic thesis in experimental solid mechanics, 1993.

Courses Typically Taught:

  • Smart Structures (SE87) – undergraduate seminar
  • Solid Mechanics I (SE110A) and Solid Mechanics II (SE110B) – undergraduate
  • Non-Destructive Evaluation (SE163) – undergraduate
  • Experimental Mechanics and NDE (SE252)- graduate

Editorial/Review Activities (selected):

  • Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems, 2017-present
  • Editor, Experimental Mechanics, Society for Experimental Mechanics, 2014-present
  • Associate Editor, International Journal of Structural Health Monitoring, 2008-present
  • Associate Editor, Research in Nondestructive Evaluation, American Society for Nondestructive Testing, 2001-present
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, 2007-present
  • Associate Editor, International Journal of Structural Longevity, 2009-2010
  • Reviewer for several journals in the areas of civil, aerospace and mechanical engineering
  • Proposal Reviewer for US National Science Foundation (Civil and Mechanical Systems Division, Sensors Program, etc..), US National Institute of Health (Ultrasound Imaging Program), US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Structural Mechanics Program), US Department of State (Science and Technology Center Program – ex-Soviet Union Nuclear Weapons Antiproliferation Initiative), US Army Research Office (ARL Director’s Research Initiative), Italian CARIPLO Foundation

Professional Memberships (selected):

  • Member, Expert Panel on Non-Destructive Evaluation Technologies for CFRP Automotive Components and Structures for the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation of the American Chemistry Council (IACMI/ACC Institute) (2017-present).
  • Member, Expert Evaluation Panel on “Future and Emerging Technologies –FET,” Horizon 2020 – the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, European Research Council (2016-present).
  • Member, Expert Evaluation Panels for National Science Foundation and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (2004-present).
  • Member, Technical Advisory Committee of the National University Rail (NURail) Center, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2013-present).
  • Member, Railway Maintenance Committee (AR060) of the US National Transportation Research Board (2005-present)
  • Member, Expert Panel on Rail Safety Technologies for US Government Accountability Office (GAO) for presentation to US Congressional Committee on Rail Transportation (2010).
  • Member, International Scientific Committee, Centro Studi e Ricerche per l’Identificazione dei Materiali e delle Strutture “Michele Capurso,” Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy (2004-present)
  • International Expert, evaluation of research program in “Multiscale Dynamics Theories for Characterizing Slight Damage in Structures,” Department of Engineering Mechanics, Hohai University, China (2014).
  • Member, International Scientific Board on Research on Advanced Materials (Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica sui Materiali Avanzati), CARIPLO FOUNDATION, Milan, Italy (2008-2011)
  • Member, International Jury for “Bridges to Italy: Cervelli in Movimento,” Italy-USA Bridges to Italy International Business Association (2011-present)
  • UCSD Reference, Academic Cooperation Agreement between the School of Engineering of the University of California San Diego and the School of Engineering of the University of Palermo, Italy (2006-2011, renewed 2011-2016)
  • UCSD Reference, Academic Cooperation Agreement between the School of Engineering of the University of California San Diego and the School of Engineering of the University of Trento, Italy (2007-2012)

Conference Committees (selected):

  • Chair, Mini-symposium “Waves in Solids,” International Conference of Eurodyn, La Sapienza University, Rome, 2017
  • Presiding Officer, Special Session on “New Technologies for Track Condition Assessment and Management,” 95th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board Annual Conference, Washington DC, 2016
  • Member, International Advisory Board, 5th International Conference on Smart and Multifunctional Materials, Devices and Structures (CIMTEC), Symposium P, Embodying Intelligence in Structures and Integrated Systems, Perugia, Italy, 2016
  • Chair, Session on “Acoustic Imaging and Acoustic Detection,” International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV22), Florence, Italy, 2015
  • Program Committee Member, International Workshops on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford University, CA, 2007 to Present
  • Program Committee Member, NDE/NDT for Highways and Bridges: Structural Materials Technology (SMT) Conferences, 2006 to 2008
  • Program Committee Member, Conference on NDE for Health Monitoring and Diagnostics, SPIE Int’l Symposia, San Diego, CA, 2002 to Present
  • Program Committee Member, Smart Structures and NDE Joint Conference: Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical and Aerospace Systems, San Diego, CA, 2006 to Present
  • Program Committee Member, Conference on NDE and Health Monitoring of Aerospace Materials and Composites, SPIE Int’l Symposia, San Diego, CA, 2002 to 2005
  • Organizing Committee Member, 11th International Symposium on Nondestructive Characterization of Materials, Berlin, Germany, 2002

Email:
flanzadiscalea@ucsd.edu

Office Phone:
858-822-1458

Institute Affiliations:

Charles Lee Powell Structural Research Laboratories
Los Alamos National Laboratory Engineering Institute
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology