Washington State University’s Composite Materials And Engineering Center Names New Director And Associate Director

Vikram Yadama has been named director, and Julia Day has been named associate director of Washington State University’s Composite Materials and Engineering Center (CMEC).


Vikram Yadama
Yadama has been with WSU since 2002 where his research focuses on the mechanics of wood and wood composites. He has received more than $8 million in research funding and has published more than 50 refereed journal articles, a book chapter, and a dozen peer-reviewed conference proceedings and extension publications. He holds a dual appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and WSU Extension and is site director for the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, an NSF-sponsored industry-university cooperative research center with the North Dakota State University, Iowa State University, and the University of Georgia.

Yadama is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, a master’s degree from Virginia Tech, and a PhD from WSU in civil engineering.

Day is an associate professor in the School of Design and Construction and directs the Integrated Design and Construction Laboratory. Her research interests include occupant behavior and energy efficiency, daylighting design, and post-occupancy evaluation of buildings. She has participated in and co-led many energy efficiency efforts, including the International Energy Agency, Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme Annex 79: Occupant-Centric Building Design and Operation. She is also involved in leadership roles with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the National Science Foundation’s Research Coordination Network on Sustainable Human-Building Ecosystems (SHBE).


Julia Day
She holds a bachelor’s, master’s and PhD from WSU as well as an MBA in sustainability from the San Francisco Institute of Architecture. With WSU since 2017, she also holds a joint appointment with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Established more than 60 years ago, CMEC is an interdisciplinary research organization at WSU focused on developing new building materials and manufacturing technologies from recycled and renewable resources. Recent efforts have also included energy efficiency efforts in the building sector. More than 40 percent of the wood-plastic industry in North America has used material formulations developed at WSU, and CMEC has more than 30 patents on inventions in areas such as nondestructive evaluation of wood materials, wood plastic composites and composite materials processing.