Olesya Zhupanska

Dr. Olesya Zhupanska is a professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona. She is an expert in mechanics of composites with a particular emphasis on structural composites in extreme environments (mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic multi-field effects), impact and damage, and micromechanics.  She has authored and co-authored more than 100 technical publications. Prof. Zhupanska has presented her work at numerous conferences in the USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, UK, and Ukraine. She presented more than thirty invited seminars at academic and government research institutions including ARL, AFRL, and NASA. Her research has been supported by DARPA, AFOSR, AFRL, NASA, and NSF.

Prof. Zhupanska’s research on multi-field effects in composites was recognized by a number of prestigious national awards, including DARPA Young Faculty Award, Elsevier Young Composites Researcher Award from American Society for Composites (ASC), ASME/Boeing Structures & Materials Award, and ASC Best Paper Awards. She was a recipient of two National Research Council Senior Research Associateship Award, spent her two extended sabbatical visits at AFRL and received numerous Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowships. She is Fellow of ASME and Associate Fellow of AIAA.  

Prof. Zhupanska has provided leadership and long-standing service to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Society for Composites (ASC). At present, she is President of the American Society for Composites and a member of the ASME’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) Steering Committee Senate.  She is a Topic Editor of Composites and Advanced Materials and is on the Editorial Board of Applied Composite Materials.

During her academic career, Prof. Zhupanska has taught more than 1000 undergraduate and graduate students. Her graduate students were recipients of numerous awards including Department of Defense SMART Scholarship, NASA AS&ASTAR Fellowship, Lockheed Martin Student Paper Award in Structures, ASC Best Paper awards, and ASC PhD Research Scholarship Award. She is active in promoting diversity in engineering and has received NSF funding to support her activities in this area.

Prof. Zhupanska was one of the winners of the inaugural Women of Impact Awards from the University of Arizona Office of Research, Innovation and Impact. She was recognized for her commitment to the university's mission and values, application of skills toward discovery and innovation, enrichment of the University of Arizona’s community, and the empowerment of others to ensure lasting change.

EDUCATION

• PhD Mechanics of Solids and Applied Mathematics,Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine, 2000
• BS/MS Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, with Highest Honours, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine, 1996

 COURSES TAUGHT

• AME 500A, Advanced Engineering Analysis
• AME462/562, Composite Materials
• AME 324C, Aerospace Structures
• AME 302, Numerical Methods
• AME 324A, Mechanical Behavior of Engineering Materials
• Intermediate Mechanics of Deformable Bodies
• Multiphysics Modeling of Solids
• Mechanical Systems Design
• Mechanical Systems

HONORS and AWARDS

• Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dedicated Service Award, 2023
• National Research Council (NRC) Senior Research Associateship Award, 2022
• Woman of Impact Award, University of Arizona, 2022
• National Research Council (NRC) Senior Research Associateship Award, 2015
• Robert and Virginia Wheeler Faculty Fellowship in Engineering, University of Iowa, 2013
• Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship, 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2009
• American Society for Composites Best Paper Award, 2013
• DARPA Young Faculty Award, 2011
• Elsevier Young Composites Researcher Award, American Society for Composites, 2008
• ASME/Boeing 2007 Structures & Materials Award, 2007
• American Society for Composites Best Paper Award, 2007
• Graduate Student Award, Hypervelocity Impact Society, 1998