Gerardo Olivares, Ph.D.

Dr. Gerardo Olivares joined the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR)as a Research Scientist in2005. Currently he is Director and Senior Research Scientist for the Computational Mechanics and Crash Dynamics laboratories. Over an eight year period Dr. Olivares has developed a world-class research program, personnel and laboratory facilities in the areas of computational\experimental crashworthiness, virtual product development, and certification by analysis methods. Since 2005 Dr. Olivares has been the principal investigator in over 50 research projects funded by various US Federal Agencies and private companies from 16 different countries. For the last ten years Dr. Olivares has been able to successfully negotiate and execute complex international engineering programs in the aerospace and automotive industry. Dr. Olivares has demonstrated a capacity to envision future industry needs and develop the tools and methods necessary to solve these issues using his analytical, computational, and experimental skills. During his career Dr. Olivares has had the opportunity to manage and work with engineers from various countries in the American, European, African and Asian continents. Dr. Olivares was able to identify and leverage group cultural synergies in order to successfully solve on schedule complex engineering projects.