Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- PhD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO - SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- MS, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- BS, CETY'S UNIVERSITY (MEXICALI, MEXICO)
Paulina Díaz-Montiel, PhD, is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of San Diego. Her expertise is in structural mechanics and composite materials, with a focus on manufacturing, testing, experimental mechanics and finite element analysis to study the progressive failure of materials and structures.
Dr. Díaz-Montiel’s research interests include investigating the effect of manufacturing defects on the progressive failure of polymeric composites at various scales and under different loading conditions. Her work also studies the effect of defects on the progressive failure of sustainable composites, as well as damage characterization and quantification in composites using non-destructive evaluation techniques.
Dr. Díaz-Montiel earned her PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of California San Diego - San Diego State University joint doctoral program. She holds an MS in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from CETYS University (Mexicali, México). She is an active member of the American Society for Composites and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.