Kara Peters

Bio

Dr. Peters’ long-term goal is to contribute to the advancement of nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring techniques for composite aerospace structures. The advancements tend to increase safety and improve performance of structural systems. She served as the program director for the Mechanics of Materials and Structures program at the National Science Foundation from 2015-2018. She is an Associate Editor of the journal Smart Materials and Structures and the ASME Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems. She is also on the editorial board of the journal Measurement Science and Technology.

Dr. Peters teaches Mechanics of Composite Structures (MAE 537). Her presentation in this course has a fundamental flavor. In this course, Dr. Peters surveys composite structures in the aerospace industry, and gives students an understanding of the current state-of-the-art. Dr. Peters teaches Aerospace Structures I and II (MAE 371 and MAE 472). In these courses, she outlines the current state-of-the-art of aircraft structures and describes some of the advancements being anticipated in the near future.

Dr. Peters works closely with her students to help them develop strong experimental problem-solving skills. Her students bridge the gap between optics and mechanics and work in a hands-on, experimental environment. They fabricate the composite structures themselves, from learning how to embed sensors into composite materials to learning how to make different kinds of optical interfaces.

NSF Sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site: Composites for Extreme Environments

Publications

• Extension of Fiber Bragg Grating Ultrasound Sensor Network by Adhesive Couplers , PHOTONICS (2023)
• Ferroelectric Domain Wall Engineering Enables Thermal Modulation in PMN-PT Single Crystals , ADVANCED MATERIALS (2023)
• High-speed polarization imaging for failure detection in fiber spinning , HEALTH MONITORING OF STRUCTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS XVII (2023)
• Laser Doppler vibrometry measurements of acoustic attenuation in optical fiber waveguides , APPLIED OPTICS (2023)
• Modeling of Ultrasonic Coupling between Optical Fibers through an Adhesive Bond for Sensing Applications , HEALTH MONITORING OF STRUCTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS XVII (2023)
• Optical Fiber Sensors: introduction to the feature issue , APPLIED OPTICS (2023)
• Scalable and High-Throughput In Vitro Vibratory Platform for Vocal Fold Tissue Engineering Applications , BIOENGINEERING-BASEL (2023)
• Special feature on measurement-based decision making in structural health monitoring , MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (2023)
• Amplification of Lamb-Wave Detection via Fiber Bragg Gratings Using Ultrasonic Horns , JOURNAL OF NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION, DIAGNOSTICS AND PROGNOSTICS OF ENGINEERING SYSTEMS (2022)
• Amplifying Lamb Wave Detection for Fiber Bragg Grating with a Phononic Crystal GRIN Lens Waveguide , SENSORS (2022)