University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

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Lining Yao

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
(January 2024)

Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
liningy@berkeley.edu

For more information see:

Dr. Lining Yao will be joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in January of 2024. She is currently a Cooper-Siegel Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), School of Computer Science, directing the Morphing Matter Lab. Dr. Yao also has courtesy appointments in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at CMU and serves as a core team member of the Softbotics initiative and on the University Advisory Board of the Future Manufacturing Institute. Dr. Yao received her Ph.D. from the MIT Media Lab in 2017. She is the co-founder of the MorphingMatter4Girls Initiative, a Wired UK fellow, an appointed instructor in eco-design by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, a CMU Provost’s Inclusive Teaching Fellow, and a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award.


Research Description:

Dr. Lining Yao’s research explores the positive impact of active and morphing materials on sustainable design across different scales and contexts. Her work focuses on discovering and studying morphing material mechanisms, as well as algorithms for computational design and fabrication pipelines. Dr. Yao has published in both computer science and physical science venues and has received nine Best Paper or Best Talk Awards and nominations from premier conferences in Human-Computer Interaction. Her journal papers have been featured as cover stories in Nature, Science Advances, and Advanced Materials Technologies.

Key Publications:

Luo, D., Maheshwari, A., Danielescu, A., Li, J., Yang, Y., Tao, Y., Sun, L., Patel, D. K., Wang, G., Yang, S., Zhang, T., and Yao, L., 2023, “Autonomous Self-Burying Seed Carriers for Aerial Seeding,” Nature, 614(7948), pp. 463–470. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05656-3

 

Tao, Y., Lee, Y.-C., Liu, H., Zhang, X., Cui, J., Mondoa, C., Babaei, M., Santillan, J., Wang, G., Luo, D., Liu, D., Yang, H., Do, Y., Sun, L., Wang, W., Zhang, T., and Yao, L., 2021, “Morphing Pasta and Beyond,” Sci. Adv., 7(19), p. eabf4098. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/19/eabf4098

 

Patel, D. K., Huang, X., Luo, Y., Mungekar, M., Jawed, M. K., Yao, L., and Majidi, C., 2022, “Highly Dynamic Bistable Soft Actuator for Reconfigurable Multimodal Soft Robots,” Adv Materials Technologies, p. 2201259. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.202201259

 

Yang, H., Qian, K., Liu, H., Yu, Y., Gu, J., McGehee, M., Zhang, Y. J., and Yao, L., 2020, “Simulearn: Fast and Accurate Simulator to Support Morphing Materials Design and Workflows,” Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, pp. 71–84. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3379337.3415867

 

An, B., Wu, H.-Y., Zhang, T., Yao, L., Tao, Y., Gu, J., Cheng, T., Chen, X. “Anthony,” Zhang, X., Zhao, W., Do, Y., and Takahashi, S., 2018, “Thermorph: Democratizing 4D Printing of Self-Folding Materials and Interfaces,” Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems  – CHI ’18, ACM Press, Montreal QC, Canada, pp. 1–12. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3173574.3173834

 

Wang, W., Yao, L., Cheng, C.-Y., Zhang, T., Atsumi, H., Wang, L., Wang, G., Anilionyte, O., Steiner, H., Ou, J., Zhou, K., Wawrousek, C., Petrecca, K., Belcher, A. M., Karnik, R., Zhao, X., Wang, D. I. C., and Ishii, H., 2017, “Harnessing the Hygroscopic and Biofluorescent Behaviors of Genetically Tractable Microbial Cells to Design Biohybrid Wearables,” Sci. Adv., 3(5), p. e1601984. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1601984

Lin Lab

The Lin Lab focuses on applying the principles of mechanical engineering to a wide range of applications in growing fields, including MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems), NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical systems), Nanotechnology, Synthesis of Nanomaterials, BioMEMS, Microfluidics, Plasmonics, and Energy.

Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory

Our research activities are focused on the design and control of a class of robotic systems worn or operated by humans to augment human mechanical strength, while the wearer’s intellect remains the central control system for manipulating the robot. Human power extenders can be used to maneuver heavy loads with great dexterity, speed, and precision, …

Gu Research Group

The Gu Research Group works at the intersection of mechanics, additive manufacturing, materials, and computer science. We aim to make additive manufacturing more accessible, economical, and ubiquitous. Using a bioinspired algorithmic-driven design approach, we harness tools such as advanced computational analysis, machine learning, and topology optimization to expand and revolutionize the field of smart additive manufacturing …

BEST Lab

The BEST (Berkeley [Energy and Sustainability Technologies/ Expert Systems Technologies/ Emergent Space Tensegrities]) Lab conducts research at the intersection of cutting-edge frontiers in design research, computational design, sustainability, gender equity, human-machine cognition, supervisory control,  soft robotics, sensor fusion, design research and intelligent learning systems.

Embodied Dexterity Group

Our group improves robot and human dexterity through building end-effectors and mechanisms with embodied intelligence and robustness, especially for challenging unstructured environments. This includes the design of (1) novel grippers, hands and exoskeletons, (2) touch perception for autonomous or teleoperated interventions and (3) bioinspired manipulation strategies. This vision includes the advancement of relevant design analysis …

Hayden Taylor

Vice Chair of Instruction
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6159 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
hkt@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-4901

For more information see: Design for Nanomanufacturing
Current Classes Taught

Hayden Taylor is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Biosystems and Micromechanics group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, and a Research Associate in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories at MIT.

 

Hayden was born in Bristol, United Kingdom, in 1981. He attended Bristol Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving the B.A. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2004. He was sponsored as an undergraduate by ST Microelectronics. He is a Senior Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge, and received the Cambridge University Engineering Department’s Baker Prize in 2004. Hayden received the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2009, working with Professor Duane Boning.

 

Hayden is a member of the IEEE, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Physics. He was an Institution of Electrical Engineers Jubilee Scholar 2000-4, and was a Kennedy Scholar for the academic year 2004-5.

 

To view Professor Taylor’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

The invention, modeling and simulation of micro- and nano-manufacturing processes, materials-testing techniques operating down to the nanoscale, and applications of polymeric materials in micro- and nano-fabrication—including for tissue scaffold engineering.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Taylor’s publications, please visit the Design for Nanomanufacturing website.

Hannah Stuart

Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professorship in Mechanical Engineering

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professorship in Mechanical Engineering

5138 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
hstuart@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-9786

For more information see: Embodied Dexterity Group (EDG)
Current Classes Taught

Hannah Stuart received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the George Washington University in 2011. She then completed her MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University in 2013 and 2018 respectively. She is an NSF CAREER and NASA Early Career Faculty grant recipient.


Research Description:

Professor Stuart’s research interests include: Dexterous manipulation; Bioinspired design; Soft and multi-material mechanisms; Skin contact conditions; Tactile sensing and haptics.

 

Mobile and assistive robots face a rapidly expanding range of potential applications, including remote exploration and human assistance. In many of these cases, the focus of interaction is via the robot’s contact points, like end-effectors. However, current machines have limited capabilities in comparison to their biological counterparts when complex contact conditions dominate physical interaction.

 

Professor Stuart’s research group is interested in improving robot dexterity with embodied intelligence through studying and designing for the nonidealities of real contact, especially for unstructured environments. This includes the design of (1) novel grippers and hands, (2) touch perception for autonomous interventions and (3) bioinspired manipulation strategies. This vision includes the advancement of relevant design analysis tools and the validation of concepts by applying technologies in the field.

 

Key Publications:

Cao, C., Moon, D., Creager, C., Lieu, D., & Stuart, H. S. (2023). Push-pull locomotion: Increasing travel velocity in loose regolith via induced wheel slip. Journal of Terramechanics, 110, 87–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jterra.2023.08.005
 
Abbott, M., & Stuart†, H. S. (2023). Characterizing the force-motion tradeoff in body-powered transmission design. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 31, 3064–3074. https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2023.3297549
 
Page, J. J., Treers, L. K., Jorgensen, S. J., Fearing, R. S., & Stuart, H. S. (2023). The robustness of tether friction in non-idealized terrains. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 8(1), 424–431. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2022.3227868
 
Treers, L. K., McInroe, B., Full, R.,&Stuart, H. S. (2022). Mole crab-inspired vertical self-burrowing. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 9, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2022.999392 
Featured in Berkeley News: https://engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2022/10/digging-deep/
 
Huh, T. M., Sanders, K., Danielczuk, M., Li, M., Chen, Y., Goldberg, K., & Stuart, H. S. (2021a, December). A multi-chamber smart suction cup for adaptive gripping and haptic exploration. In 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (pp. 1786–1793). https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS51168.2021.9635852
 
Li, M. S., Melville, D., Chung, E., & Stuart, H. S. (2020). Milliscale features increase friction of soft skin in lubricated contact. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 5(3), 4781-4787. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2020.3003880

Lisa Pruitt

Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering

5134 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
lpruitt@berkeley.edu

For more information see: Medical Polymer Group
Current Classes Taught

To view Professor Pruitt’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Research is focused on structure-property relationships in orthopedic tissues, biomaterials and medical polymers. Current projects include the assessment of fatigue fracture mechanisms and tribological performance of orthopedic biomaterials, as well as characterization of orthopedic tissues and associated devices. Surface modifications using plasma chemistry are used to optimize polymers for medical applications. Attention is focused on wear, fatigue and multiaxial loading. Retrievals of orthopedic implants are characterized to model in vivo degradation and physiological loading. Biomechanical characterization of structural tissues is performed to assess clinical treatments and to develop constitutive relationships. Laboratory techniques for structural characterization include SEM, TEM, FEM, SAXS, USAXS, XPS, DSC, GPC, FTIR, AFM, confocal microscopy, wear testing, fatigue testing, fracture mechanics analysis, and nanoindentation. Research has been supported by NIH, NSF, ONR, DARPA, OREF and industry. Pedagogical experience includes curriculum development in mechanical engineering and bioengineering. Teaching includes freshman seminars; undergraduate courses on Mechanical Behavior and Processing of Materials, Structural Aspects of Biomaterials, and Principles of Bioengineering; graduate courses on Fracture Mechanics, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, and Polymer Engineering.

 

Key Publications:

2014

F. Ansari, C. Major, T. R. Norris, S. B. Gunther, M. Ries, and L. Pruitt. “Unscrewing instability of modular reverse shoulder prosthesis increases propensity for in vivo fracture: a report of two cases.” Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery/American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons…[et al.] 23, no. 2 (2014): e40-5.

 

E.W. Patten, D. Van Citters, M. D. Ries, and L. Pruitt. “Quantifying cross-shear under translation, rolling, and rotation, and its effect on UHMWPE wear.” Wear 313, no. 1 (2014): 125-134.

 

To view a complete list of Professor Pruitt’s publications from previous years, please click here.

Sara McMains

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5145 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
mcmains@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 852-9359

For more information see: McMains Home Page
Current Classes Taught

Dr. McMains is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include Geometric DFM (Design for Manufacturing) feedback, geometric solid modeling, CAD/CAM, GPU algorithms, computer aided process planning, layered manufacturing, computer graphics, visualization, virtual prototyping, and virtual reality. Her current research focuses on new techniques for accessibility analysis and collision detection, with applications in haptic design environments, design for manufacturing for injection molding, design for cleanability, layered manufacturing, and machining.

 

McMains received her A.B. from Harvard University in Computer Science, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Computer Science with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. She is the recipient of Best Paper Awards from Usenix (1995) and ASME DETC (2000), a Best Poster and a Best Paper Award from the ACM Solid and Physical Modeling Symposium (2007, 2008 — 2nd place), and the NSF CAREER Award (2005).


Research Description:

Geometric and solid modeling, computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, layered manufacturing, computer graphics and visualization, virtual prototyping, virtual reality.

 

Liwei Lin

James Marshall Wells Academic Chair in Mechanical Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
James Marshall Wells Academic Chair
Co-Director, Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center

5135 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
lwlin@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-5495

For more information see: Lin Lab
Lin Home Page
Current Classes Taught

2006 – 2009  Vice Chair – Graduate Study, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

2004  Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

2001  Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

1999  Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

1996  Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Michigan

1994  Associate Professor, Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University

1993  Senior Research Scientist, BEI Electronics Inc.

1993  PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley

1991  MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley

1986  BS, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University


Research Description:

MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems); NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical Systems); Nanotechnology; design and manufacturing of microsensors and microactuators; development of micromachining processes by silicon surface/bulk micromachining; micromolding process; mechanical issues in MEMS including heat transfer, solid/fluid mechanics, and dynamics.

 

Key Publications:

For a list of Professor Lin’s publications, please click here.

Homayoon Kazerooni

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6147 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kazerooni@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2964

For more information see: Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Dr. Kazerooni is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory. With more than 30 years of mechanical engineering experience and a doctorate degree from MIT, he is a leading expert in robotics, control sciences, exoskeletons, medical devices, human-machine systems and augmentation, bioengineering, mechatronics design, and intelligent assist devices.  Prior to his more well-known research on lower extremity exoskeletons, Dr. Kazerooni led his team at Berkeley to successfully develop robotics systems that enhanced human upper extremity strength.  The results of this work led to a new class of Intelligent Assist Devices (IAD) that are currently marketed worldwide by leading material handling corporations for use by manual laborers in distribution centers and factories globally.  

 

Dr. Kazerooni’s later work focuses on the control of human-machine systems specific to lower human extremities. After developing BLEEX, ExoHiker, and ExoClimber–three load-carrying exoskeletons–his team at Berkeley created HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier). It is the first energetically-autonomous, orthotic, lower extremity exoskeleton that allows its user to carry 200-pound weights in various terrains for an extended period, without becoming physically overwhelmed.  The technology was licensed to Lockheed Martin. Dr. Kazerooni has also developed lower-extremity technology to aid persons who have experienced a stroke, spinal cord injuries, or health conditions that obligate them to use a wheelchair.  His medical exoskeletons, Ekso and Phoenix have successfully allowed those who have been paralyzed to walk, stand, and speak face to face with peers in an upright position. The technologies related to Ekso and Phoenix are licensed to Ekso Bionics and suitX. 

 

In addition to his teaching work and research experience in academia, Dr. Kazerooni is also an entrepreneur. In 2005, he founded Ekso Bionics (eksobionics.com), which went on to become a publicly-owned company in 2014 and now supplies medical exoskeleton (Ekso) to a great number of rehabilitation centers worldwide.  Later he founded suitX (suitx.com), a VC, industry, and government funded company that provides industrial and medical exoskeletons.  suitX was acquired by Ottobock, the largest European medical device company in late 2021.

 

Dr. Kazerooni has won numerous awards including Discover Magazine’s Technological Innovation Award, the McKnight-Land Grant Professorship, and has been a recipient of the outstanding ASME Investigator Award. His research was recognized as the most innovative technology of the year in New York Times Magazine. He has served in a variety of leadership roles in the mechanical engineering community and was notably the editor of two journals: ASME Journal of Dynamics Systems and Control and IEEE Transaction on Mechatronics. A recognized authority on robotics, Dr. Kazerooni has published more than 200 articles to date, delivered over 130 plenary lectures internationally, and is the inventors of over 200 patents.


Research Description:

Bioengineering, robotics, control systems, mechatronics, design, automated manufacturing and human-machine systems

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Kazerooni’s publications, please visit the Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory’s website.

Grace X. Gu

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6177 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
ggu@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-4996

For more information see: Gu Research Group
Current Classes Taught

Education:
PhD Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2018
MS Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2014
BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2012


Research Description:

Research interests: Composites, additive manufacturing, fracture mechanics, topology optimization, machine learning, finite element analysis, and bioinspired materials.

 

Key Publications:

S Lee, Z Zhang, and GX Gu. Deep learning accelerated design of mechanically efficient architected materials, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2023

 

B Zheng, Z Jin, G Hu, J Gu, SY Yu, JH Lee, and GX Gu. Machine learning and experiments: A synergy for the development of functional materials, MRS Bulletin, 2023

 

S Lee, D Lim, E Pegg, and GX Gu.  The origin of high-velocity impact response and damage mechanisms for bioinspired composites, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2022

 

JH Lee, Z Zhang, and GX Gu. Maximum electro-momentum coupling in piezoelectric metamaterial scatterers, Journal of Applied Physics, 2022

 

Z Zhang, Z Jin, and GX Gu. Efficient pneumatic actuation modeling using hybrid physics-based and data-driven framework, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2022

 

S Lee, Z Zhang, and GX Gu. Generative machine learning algorithm for lattice structures with superior mechanical properties, Materials Horizons, 2022

 

Z Jin, Z Zhang, K Demir, and GX Gu. Machine learning for advanced additive manufacturing, Matter, 2020

 

B Zheng and GX Gu. Machine learning-based detection of graphene defects with atomic precision, Nano-Micro Letters, 2020

 

C Yang, Y Kim, S Ryu, and GX Gu. Prediction of composite microstructure stress-strain curves using convolutional neural networks, Materials & Design, 2020

 

Z Zhang, K Demir, and GX Gu. Developments in 4D-printing: A review on current smart materials, technologies, and applications, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 2019

 

To view a complete list of Professor Gu’s publications, please visit the Gu Research Group website.

Kosa Goucher-Lambert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6179 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kosa@berkeley.edu
(510) 664-5376

For more information see: Current Classes Taught
Co-Design Lab

Kosa Goucher-Lambert is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Affiliate Faculty member in the Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation and the Berkeley Institute of Design. Kosa received his B.A. (2011) in Physics from Occidental College, and his M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2017) in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. His primary research interests focus on understanding decision-making processes in engineering design using a combination of mathematical analyses, computational modeling, human cognitive studies, and neuroimaging approaches. Kosa was a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2014 ASME IDETC Design Theory and Methodology Best Paper Award, 2015, 2017, and 2019 International Conference on Engineering Design Reviewers Favorite Award, and 2019 Excellence in Design Science Award. Kosa primarily teaches courses on integrated product development, with an emphasis on complex socio-technical challenges.


Research Description:

Design theory, methodology, and automation: decision-making applied to engineering teams and individuals; ideation and creativity; analogical reasoning in design; preference modeling and design attribute optimization; design cognition; neuroimaging methods applied to design; sustainable design; new product development; crowdsourcing and collaboration.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Goucher-Lambert’s publications, please click here.

Alice M. Agogino

Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School
Product Design Concentration Founder and Head Advisor, MEng Program
Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Chair in Mechanical Engineering (7/1/2008-12/31/20221)

Blum Hall 200E
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
agogino@berkeley.edu
(510) 666-3704

For more information see: Best Lab
Current Classes Taught

Click here to view Professor Agogino’s biography, and here to view her CV.


Research Description:

Intelligent learning systems; information retrieval and data mining; multiobjective and strategic product design; nonlinear optimization; probabilistic modeling; intelligent control and manufacturing; sensor validation, fusion and diagnostics; wireless sensor networks; multimedia and computer-aided design; design databases; design theory and methods; MEMS Synthesis and CAD; artificial intelligence and decision and expert systems; gender equity.

 

Key Publications:

Click here for a list of Professor Agogino’s publications.