Michelle Pantoya, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Michelle Pantoya is the J.W. Wright Regents Endowed Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University. She received her PhD from the University of California, Davis in 1999 and joined the faculty in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Texas Tech University in 2000. She studies solid fuel combustion in ways that can enhance our national safety and security. Her work has been published in more than 200 journal articles, including papers in several Nature and Science family journals. She has received many prestigious awards including the US Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE) and the Department of Defense Young Investigator Award. She maintains several federal STEM grants and is the Director of the Combustion Lab at Texas Tech. Dr. Pantoya is also the co-author of several children's books introducing engineering to young kids including Engineering Elephants & Designing Dandelions.  

Research Interests

• Energetic Materials
• Combustion
• Experimental Heat Transfer

Personal Information

Curriculum Vitae

Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Davis, (1999)
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Davis, (1994)
• B.S., Aeronautical Engineering, University of California, Davis, (1992)