Dr. Paul Ziehl is Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and Computing and Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He conducts research in aerospace composites and related structural systems. In this capacity, he has conducted multiple investigations related to real-time in-flight evaluation systems, contributed to the development of a flight-ready monitoring system for thermoplastic aircraft control surfaces, and developed evaluation procedures for progressive damage caused by defects through the Advanced Composites Consortium (NASA). His research lies at the intersection of data-driven experimental approaches informed by machine learning and physics-based numerical simulations.