Professor Genevieve Langdon

Director of BISRU, HoD Mechanical Engineering

Prof Genevieve Langdon is the current Director of the BISRU Centre. Genevieve was born in United Kingdom and attended the University of Liverpool. She gained a BEng and PhD in the Engineering Department in Liverpool and worked at their Impact Research Centre from 1999 to 2004. She was then appointed as a research fellow at the Blast Impact and Survivability Research Unit, University of Cape Town (2004-2006). In 2006, she joined the academic staff at UCT. She is currently the Head of Department and a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. 

Her research involves examining the blast resistant properties of novel materials, passive blast mitigation, confined explosions and the failure modes of lightweight structures. She has received a number of awards, including an 1851 Royal Commission Research Fellowship and young researcher awards at the Women in Science Awards. She has co-authored over sixty journal articles, is an NRF rated researcher, and a chartered engineer. She is also a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Impact Engineering and the journal of Engineering Structures, and is the Secretary of the International Society of Impact Engineering.

Recent Publications

Book Chapters:

  1. GS Langdon, Z Guan, WJ Cantwell, 8.17 Blast Protection for Polymer Composite Materials in Structures Subjected to Air-Blast Loading, 332-350, Ed(s): P.W.R. Beaumont, C.H. Zweben, In: Comprehensive Composite Materials II, Elsevier, 2018.

  2. G.S. Langdon, C.J. von Klemperer, G. Sinclair, I Ghoor, Influence of curvature and load direction on the air-blast response of singly curved glass fiber reinforced epoxy laminate and sandwich panels, Explosion Blast Response of Composites, Elsevier, pp. 133-160, 2017

  3. G.S. Langdon, C.J. von Klemperer, G.M. Sinclair, Blast response of sandwich structures: the influence of curvature, Dynamic Deformation, Damage and Fracture in Composite Materials and Structures, Elsevier, pp. 365-390, 2016

  4. GS Langdon, WJ Cantwell. The blast response of polymer composites and fibre-metal laminates, Polymer composites in the aerospace industry, Springer, pp. 371-391, 2014

Journals:

  1. G.S. Langdon, C.J. von Klemperer, G.F. Volschenk, T. van Tonder, R.A. Govender, The influence of interfacial bonding on the response of lightweight aluminium and glass fibre metal laminate panels subjected to air-blast loading, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, Vol. 232(8), pp 1402-1417, https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406217718859 ,2018
  2. SA Davids, GS Langdon, G.N. Nurick. The influence of charge geometry on the response of partially confined right circular stainless steel cylinders subjected to blast loading, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 108, pp 252-262, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2017.02.015, 2017
  3. R.J. Curry, G.S. Langdon. Transient response of steel plates subjected to close proximity explosive detonations in air, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 102, pp 102-116, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2016.12.004, 2017
  4. S. Chung Kim Yuen, G. N. Nurick, G. S. Langdon, Y. Iyer. Deformation of Thin Plates Subjected to Impulsive Load: Part III – An Update 25 years on, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 107, pp 108-117, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2016.06.010, 2017
  5. D. Karagiozova G.S. Langdon, G. N. Nurick, T. Niven, The influence of a low density foam sandwich core on the response of a partially confined steel cylinder to internal air-blast, International Journal of Impact Engineering, vol 92, pp 32-49, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2015.09.010, 2016
  6. G.N. Nurick, S. Mahoi, G.S. Langdon, The response of plates subjected to loading arising from the detonation of different shapes of plastic explosive, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 89, pp 102-113, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2015.11.012, 2016
  7. G.S. Langdon, W.C. Lee, L.A. Louca, The influence of material type on the response of plates to air-blast loading, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 78, pp 150-160, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2014.12.008, 2015
  8. G.S. Langdon, W.J. Cantwell, Z.W. Guan, G.N. Nurick. The response of polymeric composite structures to air-blast loading: a state-of-the-art, International Materials Reviews, Vol. 59(3), pp 159-177, https://doi.org/10.1179/1743280413Y.0000000028, 2014
  9. A.S. Fallah, K. Micallef, G.S. Langdon, W.C. Lee, P.T. Curtis, L.A. Louca, Dynamic response of Dyneema® HB26 plates to localised blast loading, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 73, pp 91-100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2014.06.014 , 2014
  10. G.S. Langdon, A. Ozinsky, S. Chung Kim Yuen. The response of partially confined right circular stainless steel cylinders to internal air-blast loading, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 73, pp1-14, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2014.05.002, 2014
  11. Z.W. Guan, A. Aktas, P. Potluri, W.J. Cantwell, G.S. Langdon, G.N. Nurick, The blast resistance of stitched sandwich panels, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 65, pp 137-145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2013.12.001, 2014
  12. R.A. Alia, W.J. Cantwell, G.S. Langdon, S.C.K. Yuen, G.N. Nurick, The energy-absorbing characteristics of composite tube-reinforced foam structures, Composites Part B, Vol. 61, pp 127-135, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2014.01.018, 2014