Summary
I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at Imperial College London. My research efforts aim at understanding, predicting and optimising the mechanical response of materials. I combine experiments, theoretical analysis and computer simulations to develop mechanistic models that can reliably capture material deformation and fracture. Current interests include the embrittlement of metals in aggressive environments, dislocation-based continuum plasticity, micromechanics of rock fracture, multi-physics modelling, and the development of computational methods for predicting fracture and fatigue. As detailed below, my work has been recognised through several fellowships and awards, including the Simo Prize, RILEM's Gustavo Colonnetti Medal and the Royal Academy of Engineering UK's Young Engineer of the Year award. More details can be found in the Research tab and at www.empaneda.com.
Outstanding postdocs and students are welcome to inquire regarding opportunities at my group, the Mechanics of Infrastructure Materials Lab. We currently have a postdoc opening on computational modelling of hydrogen assisted fracture, see details here.
An overview on some of my recent areas of work can be gained by watching my Energy Futures Lab seminar on "Material degradation challenges in offshore wind, hydrogen storage and Li-Ion batteries":
Other seminar talks available in YouTube include:
Steel & Hydrogen (plenary talk) - Hydrogen embrittlement: https://youtu.be/WVnCzi40Ts0
SEMNI (Simó Prize) - Multi-physics phase field modelling of fracture, fatigue and environmental damage: https://youtu.be/TPBBN6QHlnw
I2CNER - Phase field for hydrogen embrittlement: https://youtu.be/IL6J5hckyBU
SELECTED HONOURS AND AWARDS
▪ 2023 - Young Investigator Medal. Spain’s Royal Academy of Engineering
▪ 2022 - President’s Medal for Excellence in Research (Early Career). Imperial College
▪ 2021 - Young Engineer of the Year. Royal Academy of Engineering
▪ 2021 - UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
▪ 2021 - EPSRC New Investigator Award
▪ 2021 - Gustavo Colonnetti Medal. RILEM
▪ 2020 - IMechE Prestige Award for Risk Reduction in Mechanical Engineering. Institution of Mechanical Engineers
▪ 2020 - Simo Prize. Spanish Society for Numerical Methods in Engineering (SEMNI)
▪ 2019 - Keith Miller Prize. UK Forum for Engineering Structural Integrity (FESI)
▪ 2018 - Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (Standard EF), EU H2020 [Declined]
▪ 2018 - 1851 Research Fellowship (Brunel Award), Royal Commission for the 1851 Exhibition
▪ 2018 - Junior Research Fellowship, Wolfson College Cambridge.
▪ 2018 - Clarin COFUND Fellowship. Marie Curie Actions (EU FP7) [Declined]
▪ 2017 - Extraordinary Doctoral Prize & Best PhD Thesis in Engineering. University of Oviedo (ranked 1st out of 99 Theses)
▪ 2017 - Acta Materialia Student Award
▪ 2017 - Springer PhD Thesis Prize
▪ 2016 - H.C. Orsted Fellowship. Technical University of Denmark - Marie Curie Actions (EU FP7)
▪ 2013 - University of Oviedo Pre-doctoral Fellowship
A complete list can be found at www.empaneda.com
BACKGROUND
I joined Imperial College as a Lecturer in September 2019 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2021. Before joining Imperial, I was a Research Fellow for two years at the University of Cambridge, working with Norman A. Fleck FRS FREng and Vikram Desphande FRS. Prior to Cambridge, I worked as an H.C. Ørsted Fellow at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) with Christian Niordson (July 2016 – September 2017). I joined DTU immediately after finishing my PhD thesis (2013-2016), which I had the fortune to conduct at several universities: the University of Oviedo, with Covadonga Betegón (main supervisor); DTU, with Christian Niordson; the University of Luxembourg, with Stéphane Bordas; and the University of Cambridge, with Norman Fleck. I also hold a MSc (with distinction) in Structural Engineering from the University of Granada (2012) and a M.Eng. in Engineering from the University of Oviedo (2011).
LINKS
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Zhao Y, Wang R, Martínez-Pañeda E, 2022, A phase field electro-chemo-mechanical formulation for predicting void evolution at the Li-electrolyte interface in all-solid-state batteries, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol:167, ISSN:0022-5096, Pages:1-25
Cui C, Ma R, Martínez-Pañeda E, 2022, A generalised, multi-phase-field theory for dissolution-driven stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol:166, ISSN:0022-5096, Pages:104951-104951
Quinteros L, García-Macías E, Martínez-Pañeda E, 2022, Micromechanics-based phase field fracture modelling of CNT composites, Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol:236, ISSN:0961-9526
Boyce AM, Martínez-Pañeda E, Wade A, et al., 2022, Cracking predictions of lithium-ion battery electrodes by X-ray computed tomography and modelling, Journal of Power Sources, Vol:526, ISSN:0378-7753, Pages:1-14
Golahmar A, Kristensen PK, Niordson CF, et al., 2022, A phase field model for hydrogen-assisted fatigue, International Journal of Fatigue, Vol:154, ISSN:0142-1123