Dr. Elena Sitnikova

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Elena Sitnikova is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southampton. She holds MSc degrees in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics from Saint Petersburg State University, Russia, and received her PhD degree from the University of Aberdeen in 2010. Elena has held a postdoctoral research position at the University of Liverpool and was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham until 2025. Her research primarily focuses on the application of computational mechanics and tools for the characterization and design of composite materials. Notably, she co-authored the monograph 'Representative Volume Elements Unit Cells: Concepts, Theory, Application Implementation,' which is supplemented by open-source software UnitCells©, providing an automated tool for material characterization. Elena's current efforts are directed toward extending and adopting design methodologies for advanced materials with complex internal structures, particularly focusing on failure analysis under high-intensity loading. She is a key contributor to the Tubular Axle Laminate Optimisation Numerator (TALON) tool designed for tubular components using fibre-reinforced composites.

Research Interests

Experience

Lecturer

2023-01-01 — Present

University of Southampton • Southampton, ENG, GB

Teaching and conducting research in mechanical engineering, focusing on composite materials and computational mechanics.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

2013-01-01 — 2025-12-31

University of Nottingham • Nottingham, ENG, GB

Conducting research on advanced materials and design methodologies.

Postdoctoral Researcher

2011-01-01 — 2013-01-01

University of Liverpool • Liverpool, ENG, GB

Worked on projects involving material mechanics and characterization.