Christine Espinosa
About
After studying mathematics and applied mathematics, I defended a thesis in theoretical and applied mechanics. I joined the teaching and research side of the engineering school in 2001 after working as an R&D engineer for 9 years in the Paris region following my thesis. During these 9 years I discovered the contribution that numerical simulation and computational mechanics based on maths strategies can make to innovation and engineering to help design and qualify structures.
My research activities at the Institut Clément Ader in Toulouse have focused on developing methods and tools for simulating the highly non-linear behaviour of complex structures under transient multi-physical dynamic loads. The aim is first and foremost to make the simulation more reliable, so as to be able to predict events and not just reproduce them. Simulation strategies then need to be developed to take account of the different scales of behaviour, from phase changes in the material to optimal behaviour of the structure in the event of a crash for example. My recent work has focused on the simulation of lightning damage to aeronautical structures and the generation of fragments from very rapid to hypervelocity impacts on fragile multi-layer and multi-material structures.
I have been elevated to the title of ERE full professor at ISAE-SUPAERO since 2019 and qualified to direct research since 2018. I have had the privilege to be the Scientific Director of the IRT Saint Exupéry between September 2022 and December 2023.