Team
We are a diverse team of researchers united by our passion and commitment to advancing the understanding of the mechanics of soft materials.
Dr. Kshitiz Upadhyay
Lab Director and Principal Investigator
Dr. Kshitiz Upadhyay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota. His research interests lie broadly in the mechanics of soft materials, with a focus on constitutive modeling, experimental solid mechanics, data-driven methods, and injury biomechanics. His work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Louisiana Board of Regents (LABoR), and the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Upadhyay has received multiple awards for his research, including the Early Career Research Award from the World Council of Biomechanics (2022), the Best Dissertation Award from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida (2020), and the Gator Engineering Attribute Award for professional excellence from UF (2020).
Prior to joining UMN, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University (2022–2025), and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute at Johns Hopkins University (2020–2022). He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida (2020, 2019), and a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, India (2014).
Post Doctoral Associates
Dr. Achyut Dhar
Achyut's research focuses on data-driven constitutive modeling of soft materials. He received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, USA, and his master's degree from the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India.
Ph.D. students
Yogesh Chandrashekar
Graduate Research Assistant
Yogesh's research is on the mechanics of damage and fracture in soft materials. He completed his Masters in Advanced Manufacturing: Technische Universität Chemnitz in 2022, and B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India, in 2020.
Nihar Moghe
Graduate Research Assistant
Nihar's research is on developing physics-informed data-driven constitutive models of the brain tissue for understanding biomechanics of brain injury. He completed his Bachelor's in Engineering Design and Master's in Biomedical Design from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), India in 2024.
Undergraduates
S.M.A Anam Shovon
Graduate Research Assistant
Shovon's research is on detection and characterization of traumatic brain injury using data-driven methods. He completed his bachelor's in civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh, in May of 2023.
Luke Sosalla
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Luke's research focuses on high strain-rate testing of materials using a Split-Hopkinson pressure bar