Profiles

David Mascarenas

David Mascarenas came to Los Alamos in the summer of 2003 as part of the Los Alamos Dynamics Summer School, which is one of the educational components of the Engineering Institute that focuses on undergraduate students.

The implementation of this new degree program is a prime example of how LANL, working in close conjunction with a progressive university partner with an outstanding education and research reputation, can develop new technology and promote innovative curriculum development.

The Institute's focus technology can provide significant life-safety and economic advantages to all types of civilian and conventional-defense aerospace-, civil-, and mechanical-engineering infrastructure. This same technology also has the potential to provide life-cycle cost savings for future NNSA defense systems.

David completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. In the fall of 2004, he enrolled in graduate school at UCSD where he has been supported by both a LANL Engineering Institute Fellowship and a LANL-sponsored Graduate Fellowship for Minorities in Science and Engineering. He successfully defended his MS thesis entitled, "Development of an Impedance-Based Wireless Sensor Node for Monitoring of Bolted Joint Preload." In doing so, David became the first student to complete the Institute's new multi-disciplinary graduate degree program that focuses on the emerging fields of structural health monitoring, damage prognosis and validated simulations.

In his work, David developed a special type of washer that indicates that a bolt has loosened somewhere on a structure. By being able to check beforehand and repair these loosened bolts, structural damage in case of a natural disaster could be avoided.

Most of David's research work was completed at LANL. David has worked with Chuck Farrar, Dr. Gyuhae Park, Roger Bracht, and Michael Todd on his research project. In the fall of 2006, David returned to UCSD to work on his PhD. He will concentrate his studies on using a wireless remote to interrogate the sensors on structures.

When asked to provide advice to other students at the Lab about creating a successful internship while at LANL, David encouraged each student to attend as many classes and/or seminars and presentations that relate to their field of study or their interests. He also suggested getting to know as many people as possible who are interested in the same field of work.

As for his plans after getting his PhD, David doesn't know if he will come back to the Lab or pursue other interests. David's other interests include structural engineering and salsa dancing.