Our Team

Prof. Vikram Sudhir Deshpande (FREng FRS)

Group Leader

Vikram Deshpande is an engineer who has made significant contributions in fields ranging from the design of micro-architectured materials to modelling soft and active materials. His innovations have helped define the modern frontiers of solid mechanics. Examples of his work include:

invention of a new class of architected materials for diverse applications including lightweight structures, energy absorption and shock mitigation.
development of theories to exploit fluid-structure interaction effects to enhance the blast resistance of land and sea vehicle.
creation of computational tools for interrogating the high-temperature performance of alloys used in engine.
unravelling the role of entropic forces in mechano-transduction within living cells and
analysing the failureof solid electrolyte lithium ion batteries.

Dr. Angkur Shaikeea

Assistant Professor

Angkur is an assistant professor at the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge. His research includes the fracture toughness characterisation of micro-architected metamaterial and data driven deep learning methods for mechanics. Moreover, he is interested in developing digital twins for mechanical systems for Industry 4.0. Prior to joining as an assistant professor, he was the inaugural Ashby fellow at Department of Engineering at Cambridge University. He enjoys poetry, music and photography.

Dr. Siamak S. Shishvan

Senior Research Associate

Siamak joined the Cambridge Solid Mechanics group at the Engineering Department as a Senior Research Associate in October 2022. He has collaborated with Prof. Deshpande since 2015 . Siamak, via these collaborations, has developed numerical methods to study: (i) the high-temperature behaviour of Ni superalloys, (ii) the homeostatic equilibrium of living cells, (iii) the hydrogen embrittlement in high strength steels and (iv) various degradation mechanisms in Li-ion batteries including dendrite initiation/growth in ceramic electrolytes, void initiation/growth in metal electrodes and cracking of NMC cathode particles. He currently continues conducting research on these topics. Prior to coming to Cambridge Siamak was an Associate Professor at University of Tabliz.

Dr. Pramod Kumbhar

Research Associate

Pramod joined the Cambridge Solid Mechanics group at the Engineering Department as a Research Associate January 2023.He is currently working on deciphering the failure mechanism associated with the Hafnium-based environmental barrier coatings upon exposure to melt at elevated temperatures. Pramod completed his combined M.S./Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in October 2022. His doctoral research focused on developing the numerical framework based on FEM and DEM to study the Li-ion battery electrode microstructure.

Dr Vatsa Gandhi

Research Associate

Vatsa joined the Cambridge Solid Mechanics group in September 2023. He is currently working on characterizing the deformation of shell-based architected metamaterials using lab-based XCT, and will start as an Ashby Fellow at at the Department of Engineering from January 2024. Vatsa received his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology, in June 2023, where he worked on shock-induced phase transformations and dynamic strength of materials

Dr. Zifan Wang

Research Associate

Zifan joined the Cambridge Solid mechanics group in January 2023. His current research focuses on the development of a cutting-edge laboratory-based technique called FETC-coupled Digital Volume Correlation, which enables full-field strain measurement using lab-based XCT in highly homogeneous solids. He has experience in conducting in operando experiments at the synchrotron X-ray facilities, Zifan’s vision is to pioneer the advancement of lab-based techniques for characterization and in-situ measurements. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford in 2023, and enjoys playing the piano, running and powerlifting.

Ivan Grega

PhD Student

Ivan joined the Cambridge Solid Mechanics group in September 2021. He completed the Engineering Tripos with a distinction from Pembroke College. Ivan has used both computational and experimental methods to study granular assemblies of particles. More recently, he has been using graph neural networks to predict the constitutive properties of periodic lattice metamaterials. Ivan enjoys sport, plays ice hockey for the Cambridge Blues and he is an avid glider pilot.

Dr Shuvrangsu Das

Research Associate

Shuvrangsu is a Research Associate, with diverse research interest spanning homogenization of composite materials, statistical mechanics and data-driven material and structural characterization. He completed his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and worked on developing analytical homogenization methods for nonlinear composites. Currently, he is working on projects that revisits the theory of rubber elasticity through the lens of X-ray microtomography.

Hilde Hambro

Group Administrator

Hilde started to work for the Cambridge Solid mechanics group in 2018. She has worked for Cambridge University since 2016. Before joining the University, she had a varied career as a Civil Servant translator, courier, teacher, and shop worker. She has a can-do attitude and can turn her hands to anything and everything. A native of Norway she is interested in wool, and she has mastered how to live in both England and Scotland.