Contact Information

Dr. Matthew S. Allen
535 Engineering Research Building
1500 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1609
Office: 608/890-1619, Fax: 608/263-7451
http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~msallen

Background

Sandia National Laboratories, Structural Dynamics and Smart Structures Research Department, 2005-2006
Georgia Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, PhD, 2005
Georgia Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, MS, 2004
Brigham Young University, Mechanical Engineering, BS, 2001
Patterned Fiber Composites / New Revolution Golf, Carbon Fiber Composite Test and Design Engineer, 2000-2001

Click here for detailed curriculum vitæ

Research Summary

My research interests lie at the boundary between experimental and analytical methods for dynamic systems and vibration. Much of my past work has focused on identifying models for dynamic systems from measured response data and on studying the effect of uncertainty on the performance of dynamic systems. For example, I have developed algorithms to find models for the nonlinear forces acting on silicon micro-cantilever beams manufactured at Sandia using MEMS processes. In another effort I applied a modal parameter identification algorithm that I developed to identify a modal model for a highway bridge and to detect broken solder joints in flip-chips. I also worked in a collaborative effort with Lockheed Martin and Sandia to evaluate methods that predict how uncertainty in the dimensions or physics of a system affects its performance. My work can be applied to micro-scale, nano-scale, civil, aerospace, automotive and biological systems.

Impulse response of Swiss Highway Bridge
(click on animation above for more information)

Histograms of RF Switch Contact Velocity after Optimization Under Uncertainty
(click on the image above to see a recent presentation summarizing this work)