Stephan Bless, ScD, F.APS, F.IBS, is a Research Professor in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at New York University Polytechnic School ofEngineering. Before joining NYU he was Head of the Hypervelocity Effects Division at the University of Texas Institute for Advanced Technology. He is an expert in impact effects and the dynamic behavior of materials, with extensive publications in shock physics, terminal ballistics, and strength of materials. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the International Ballistics Society. He can be reached at sbless@nyu.edu.