Rate My Professor Matthew Panzer

Matthew B. Panzer is the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Affairs for the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering by courtesy. He also holds the position of Deputy Director at the Center for Applied Biomechanics. Panzer received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2003 and 2006, respectively, followed by a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 2012. He joined the University of Virginia in 2012 as a research scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics and has since advanced through the ranks to full professor, earning tenure in 2023.

Panzer's research focuses on computational and experimental approaches to high-rate non-linear mechanics, encompassing tissue mechanics, impact biomechanics, vehicle crashworthiness, military blast and ballistics, and sports injuries. Specific areas include traumatic brain injury mechanisms from blast, ballistic, and football helmet impacts, biological tissue characterization, finite element human body model development for automotive crashworthiness and blunt non-lethal weapons, and advanced injury mitigation systems such as helmets. As principal investigator for more than 40 projects funded by federal agencies and industry partners, he has produced over 125 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications. Select works include "Quantifying the Effect of Sex and Neuroanatomical Biomechanical Features on Brain Deformation Response in Finite Element Brain Models" (Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2022), "Evaluation of Tissue-Level Brain Injury Metrics Using Species-Specific Simulations" (Journal of Neurotrauma, 2021), "Biomechanics of the human brain during dynamic rotation of the head" (Journal of Neurotrauma, 2020), "A reanalysis of football impact reconstructions for head kinematics and finite element modeling" (Clinical Biomechanics, 2019), and "Skin Mechanical Properties and Modeling: A Review" (Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H, 2018). His efforts significantly advance injury prevention technologies in automotive safety, military applications, and sports equipment. Panzer has been honored with the Shannon Fellowship (2024-2027), Copenhaver Fellowship (2023), Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Early Career Researcher of the Year (2021, 2022), UVA Research Achievement Award (2019), and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Young Researcher of the Year (2018, 2019).