Hi, my name is Xingyuan Zhao, but I go by Zazzy. I am a postdoc in the Hufnagel group at Johns Hopkins University. I am affiliated with the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute where I collaborate with a wide range of experts in different backgrounds to tackle critical scientific challenges. My research focuses on understanding the deformation behavior of geomaterials under  high-speed impact using advanced experimental and diagnostics techniques. Why do we care? Well, deformation during dynamic deformation and fracture geomaterials is critical for building computational models so that we can better understand and predict the effects of events such as planetary impact and underground explosions,. These dynamic events occur rapidly, within microseconds, and involve  a wide range of strain rates. However, the fracture behavior and phase transformation within the materials at high strain rates lack quantitative mechanism-based models. For this reason, to be able to actually see and understand the fracture behavior in geomaterials such as granite and basalt, we perform dynamic impact experiments using in-house Koksy bars and two-stage light gas gun for impact speed from 20 m/s to 2 km/s, and utilize ultra-high-speed optical imaging, high-resolution x-ray tomography, and, most importantly, ultra-fast x-ray phase contrast imaging at synchrotron facilities. These techniques allow us to study extremely rapid deformation and fracture processes. These results will help us predict the response of materials to extreme events more effectively.