Kshitiz Upadhyay
Assistant Professor
Kshitiz Upadhyay
Assistant Professor
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Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
Research Lab | Google Scholar Page
Soft biological tissues, polymers, and architected cellular materials are frequently subjected to complex loading environments involving large deformations, high strain rates, thermal transients, and damage. Professor Upadhyay’s research aims to uncover the mechanics of these “soft materials” through a tightly integrated approach combining advanced experiments with physics-informed modeling. His group utilizes full-field mechanical testing (including DIC and Kolsky bar methods), thermal and optical diagnostics, and high-speed imaging to probe material behavior across multiple length and time scales. On the computational side, the lab develops novel frameworks at the intersection of continuum mechanics and machine learning to discover and calibrate constitutive models capable of efficiently capturing and simulating complex material responses under extreme conditions. Applications of interest include traumatic brain injury, injury biomechanics, protective systems, and accelerated materials discovery
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2020
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2019
B.Tech., Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology-Bhopal, India, 2014
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota, 2025 - Present
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Louisiana State University, 2022–2025
Postdoctoral Fellow, Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 2020–2022
Mechanical Design Engineer, Applied Materials India, 2014–2016
Early Career Research (Post-Doctoral) Award, 9th World Congress of Biomechanics, 2022
Best Dissertation Award, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, 2021
Gator Engineering Attribute Award – Professional Excellence, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, 2020
Michael Sutton International Student Paper Competition – First Place, SEM Conference and Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, 2019
Outstanding International Student Award. University of Florida International Center, 2019
Upadhyay, K., Fuhg, J.N., Bouklas, N., and Ramesh, K.T. (2024). Physics-informed Data-driven Discovery of Constitutive Models with Application to Strain-Rate-sensitive Soft Materials. Computational Mechanics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-024-02497-x
Upadhyay, K., Jagani, R., Giovanis, D.G., Alshareef, A., Knutsen, A.K., Johnson, C., Carass, A., Bayly, P.V., Shields, M.D., and Ramesh, K.T. (2024). Effect of Human Head Shape on the Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Gaussian Process Regression-Based Machine Learning Approach. Military Medicine, 189 (S3), 608–617.
Upadhyay, K., Alshareef, A., Knutsen, A.K., Johnson, C.L., Carass, A., Bayly, P.V., and Ramesh, K.T. (2022). Development and Validation of Subject-Specific 3D Human Head Models Based on a Nonlinear Visco-Hyperelastic Constitutive Framework. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 19(195): 20220561.
Upadhyay, K., Giovanis, D.G., Alshareef, A., Knutsen, A.K., Johnson, C.L., Carass, A., Bayly, P.V., Shields, M.D., and Ramesh, K.T. (2022). Data-driven Uncertainty Quantification in Computational Human Head Models. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 398, 115108.
Upadhyay, K., Spearot, D., and Subhash, G. (2021). Validated Tensile Characterization of the Strain Rate Dependence in Soft Materials. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 156, 103949.
Upadhyay, K., Subhash, G., and Spearot, D. (2020). Hyperelastic constitutive modeling of hydrogels based on primary deformation modes and validation under 3D stress states. International Journal of Engineering Science, 154, 103314.
Upadhyay, K., Subhash, G., and Spearot, D. (2020). Visco-hyperelastic constitutive modeling of strain rate sensitive soft materials. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 135, 103777.
Upadhyay, K., Bhattacharyya, A., Subhash, G., and Spearot, D. (2019). Quasi-static and high strain rate simple shear characterization of soft polymers. Experimental Mechanics, 59(5), 733-747.
Upadhyay, K., Subhash, G., and Spearot, D. (2019). Thermodynamics-based stability criteria for constitutive equations of isotropic hyperelastic solids. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 124, 115-142.