Sponsored by
Southwest Research Institute^®

Charles E. Anderson, Jr., (B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute; M.S. and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) has performed work in the modification and improvement of the predictive capabilities of Eulerian and Lagrangian hydrodynamic computer codes, using them for material response studies; warhead fragmentation design and analyses; and penetration mechanics and hypervelocity impact studies and analyses. Dr. Anderson is internationally recognized for his work and contributions in computational mechanics and penetration mechanics. He has authored approximately 100 reports, and has over 200 articles published in symposia or conference proceedings and journals. Dr. Anderson was the Technical Chairman of the 1986, 1989, and 1992 Hypervelocity Impact Symposia; and is a founding Board Member and the first president of the Hypervelocity Impact Society. Currently, he is the Director of the Engineering Dynamics Department at SwRI®, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Impact Engineering. In 2000, Dr. Anderson received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Hypervelocity Impact Society.

James S. Wilbeck (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Engineering from Texas A&M University) has more than 30 years experience in the analytical and experimental study of impact mechanics, with emphasis on the development of simplified analytical and numerical models. Dr. Wilbeck has applied his background in wave propagation, material characterization, and impact mechanics to the study of fragment and hit-to-kill lethality of missile systems, shaped charge and EFP development, long rod penetration, HE initiation, soil penetration and runway cratering, and scale model testing. He is currently involved in Ground-Based Missile Defense and Theater Missile Defense lethality studies for the army. Dr. Wilbeck has authored more than 50 reports and papers concerning studies of impact, scale modeling, and material characterization.

Sidney Chocron (M.S. and Ph.D. from Polytechnic University of Madrid) has experience in low and high strain rate constitutive models for ceramics, metals and foams applied to analytical and numerical computations. An emphasis of his research has been the fundamental study of ballistic fabrics (woven and nonwoven) and composites. Dr. Chocron has been active in the field for almost 15 years, most of the time in Madrid and San Antonio but performing occasional research in other centers such as University of Oxford (England), US Army Natick (Massachusetts), Technion (Israel), and UT-Austin (Texas). Dr. Chocron has coauthored close to 70 technical papers/reports. After co-chairing the International Ballistics Symposium in Tarragona, Spain, he became a member of the International Ballistics Committee in April 2007. Dr. Chocron teaches portions of Advanced Solid Mechanics and Mechanical Behavior of Materials at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and assists as referee for five international journals.

Kathryn A. Dannemann (B. S. and M. S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is a materials engineer with more than 20 years experience in materials performance and mechanical behavior of materials. Her work has focused on the interactive effects of processing and microstructure on materials performance. At Southwest Research Institute, she has directed numerous programs investigating the response of various materials in systems ranging from aircraft fuel lines to industrial gas turbines. Dr. Dannemann’s current research activities include damage characterization and investigation of the high strain rate response of metals, high strength ceramics and composites, and geologic materials. She complements her experimental work with modeling and numerical simulations of high rate phenomena. She has held numerous leadership positions in technical societies, including Chairman of the Eastern NY Chapter of ASM International (formerly American Society for Metals) and Chairman of the High Temperature Alloys Committee of TMS (The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society).

Walt Gray (B.S. from the US Naval Academy, M.S. from the University of Virginia, and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina) is a mechanical engineer and geologist with over 25 years experience in ballistics, explosives, and the safety and hazards associated with flammable and detonable materials. His work in ballistics has included the test and evaluation of armor systems and materials, laboratory gun design, solid propellant igniter design and evaluation, combustion and flow visualization of liquid propellant guns, long rod penetration studies, as well as shaped charge design and simulation. His recent research has focused on the computational modeling of impact of foam and ice into Space Shuttle thermal tiles, and the trauma associated with projectile impacts into eyes. Dr. Gray is also an igneous petrologist conducting research into the geochronology, geochemistry, and thermal evolution of plutonic systems including the Grenville-aged Kingsland Intrusive Center, Central Texas, and the Late Cretaceous Tuolumne Intrusive Suite of Yosemite National Park, California. Dr. Gray serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at San Antonio teaching introductory geology and mineralogy

Scott A. Mullin (B.S. from The University of Texas at El Paso; and M.S. from California Institute of Technology) is the Manger of the Ballistics and Explosives Engineering Section, and has more than 20 years experience in impact phenomenology, penetration mechanics, explosive and ballistic sciences, scale modeling, and instrumentation. He has served as project manager and principle investigator on over 50 experimental programs at the SwRI ballistic range, where he has been responsible for design, instrumentation, data gathering, and analysis. Mr. Mullin has been actively involved in scale (similitude) modeling during his tenure at SwRI, applying the technique in many diverse areas of experimental design and data analysis. He is also an instructor in the SwRI short course, Scale Modeling in Engineering Dynamics.

James D. Walker (B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. from The University of Utah) has done research in wave propagation, plasticity, penetration mechanics, and fracture and failure of metals and ceramics. Dr. Walker has conducted fundamental research in penetration mechanics including the development of analytical models and use of hydrocodes. He has performed research on shaped charges, including jet incoherence and modifications to launch small fragments for use in orbital debris impact studies. Recent research activities include modeling of ball and armor-piercing small arms impacting ballistic fabrics and ceramic-faced hard targets. Dr. Walker is involved in armor design and evaluation for the Army’s FCS (including active armor) and protective systems design for the next generation destroyer DD(X). As part of the space shuttle Columbia accident investigation, he authored the chapter "Impact Modeling" contained in Volume 2 of the Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. In October 2004 he was included in Popular Science’s third annual list of "Brilliant 10" scientists: he was recognized for bringing rigor to the field of impact physics and for his seminal work in impact modeling. Dr. Walker is an AIAA Distinguished Lecturer. He was awarded the 2005 ASME Holley Medal for his work in the Columbia investigation. He has taught mathematics and mechanical engineering at the graduate level at The University of Texas at San Antonio.