The LSVR creates and explores smart and adaptive structures and materials that may serve in a broad range of future medical, industrial, commercial, and engineering applications. Our research is rigorous by a comprehensive combination of analytical, computational, and experimental methods.
We are always expanding our understanding of mechanics, materials, dynamics, electronics, and physics to identify unique intersections where careful scientific questioning, innovative hypotheses, and thorough investigations lead to transformative, impactful discoveries.
Our research efforts are currently focused on the following topics.
Soft, Autonomous Engineered Systems
Biological lifeforms bring together the functional mechanisms of sensing, actuation, energy conversion, structure/frame, and decision-making. While many research groups have achieved a realization of one or more of these functions in engineered platforms, there are notable lacks of decision-making mechanisms in engineered materials and structures. We are establishing new interfaces between mathematics, Boolean algebra, and soft, conductive mechanical metamaterials revealing means for full decision-making capability in soft matter for the first time. Our platform is scalable to other physics due to its foundation on geometry and mathematics, giving opportunity for future engineered materials and systems to sense and respond to stimuli in the environment like biological lifeforms. This research is pivotal for engineers and scientists to realize soft, autonomous engineered systems that support and assist society.
Active Acoustic and Mechanical Metamaterials
Many biological systems are autonomous, collecting an energy resource from the environment and converting the energy to perform functions. We use a variety of natural inspirations and scientific innovations to realize our own active materials that function for acoustic or mechanical purposes. By new integrations of sensing and control with versatile mechanical-material frames, we are discovering ways to monitor, activate, and tailor the functioning of engineered metamaterials that may one day assist in civil, mechanical, aerospace, and other applications.
Origami-Inspired Structures and Devices
Origami is a significant inspiration for engineering and science due to simplified manufacturing and high deployability. In our research, we use origami as inspiration for wave guiding systems, whether for future medical ultrasound, underwater SONAR, or radio frequency communication applications. We explore how to tessellate structures and create folding techniques to make such systems deployable, such as for minimally-invasive high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of cancerous tissues in the human body.
Modeling Foundations for Structural and Material Behavior in Extreme Environments
Many analytical modeling methods are suited for linear dynamic behaviors of structures and materials: responses that are small deviations from a reference state. We developed the first suite of modeling tools that predict the response of complex engineering and biological systems when extreme environmental conditions result in highly nonlinear structural and material behavior. To date, we discovered methods to apply this technique to study skeletal muscle force generation, vibration energy harvesting system design, and characterization of hypersonic air vehicle components.