The Team
Principal Investigator

Vignesh Kannan
Assistant Professor of Mechanics, Solid Mechanics Laboratory (LMS)
Ecole Polytechnique, Insitut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France
Ph.D., M.S.E., Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A.
B. Tech., National Institute of Technology, Trichy, India
vignesh.kannan@polytechnique.edu +33 1 69 33 57 44
Pole Mecanique (Building 104), Office 104:20-65
Avenue Becquerel, 91120 Palaiseau, France
PhD students

Mathieu Brodmann
(ETH Zurich, co-advised with Prof. Dennis M. Kochmann)
Research: Domain wall kinetics in ferroelectric crystals
B.S., ETH Zurich, Switzerland
M.S., ETH Zurich, Switzerland
mathieubr@ethz.ch +41 44 632 63 76
Mechanics & Materials Lab, CLA J31
Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich

Sameh Ammari
Research: Dynamic behavior of shape memory alloys
B.S., Ecole Polytechnique, France
M.S., Ecole Polytechnique, France
sameh.ammari@polytechnique.edu +33 1 69 33 5702
Pole Mecanique (Building 104), Office 104:20-216
Avenue Becquerel, 91120 Palaiseau
Post-doctoral scientists
Coming soon…
Engineering staff

Théodora Daiaa (Instrumentation design engineer, Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides)
Interests: Optical instrumentation for dynamic experiments
Technical training in Photonic systems
Engineering degree, Photonics and Optronics, Polytech Paris-Saclay
theodora.daiaa@polytechnique.edu +33 1 69 33 5763
Pole Mecanique (Building 104), Office 104:20-206
Avenue Becquerel, 91120 Palaiseau, France

Hakim Gharbi (Engineer at the Laboratoire de Mecanique des Solides)
Interests: Development of experimental devices for mechanics research
M.S., Sensor and Measurement Techniques, ESPCI/Paris VI, France
hakim.gharbi@polytechnique.edu +33 1 69 33 5774
Pole Mecanique (Building 104), Office 104:20-151
Avenue Becquerel, 91120 Palaiseau, France
We also receive fabulous manufacturing support from our engineering team at the LMS. If you are interested in interacting with them, or finding out about the great work they do, you will find them at our LMS website.
Masters students
Undergraduate students

Cristian Iancu
Research: Miniature dynamic impact experiments
cristian.iancu@polytechnique.edu
Pole Mecanique (Building 104)

Matthéo Chauvancy
Research: Dynamic behavior of shape memory alloys
mattheo.chauvancy@polytechnique.edu
Pole Mecanique (Building 104)
Alumni
- Tamar Tsikarishvili (B.S. 2025) – (currently) Nordic masters program in Maritime Engineering
- Joao Moreira Lopes (masters M1 2025) – (currently) M2 masters student at ENSTA Palaiseau
- Sameh Ammari (M.S. 2025) – (currently) back to our group as its first PhD student :)
Collaborators
- Prof. Suraj Ravindran, University of Minnesota, U.S.A.
- Prof. Eric Charkaluk, CNRS & Solid Mechanics Lab (LMS), Ecole Polytechnique
- Prof. Charles Jacob Dorn, University of Washington at Seattle, U.S.A.
- Prof. Dennis M. Kochmann, ETH Zurich, Switzerland