The Laboratory is dedicated to the study of the behavior of material subjected to extremes of pressure and strain rate, and to the development of microstructure-based constitutive descriptions of material behavior and dynamic failure. The guiding principles underlying LIDAR research are the complete characterization of material behavior at the macroscale, coupled with a thorough examination of the corresponding deformation mechanisms at the microscale (through SEM, TEM, and molecular modeling). The laboratory operates directly at the intersection of  mechanics and materials research.