Our research spans the invention, modeling and simulation of micro- and nano-scale manufacturing processes. We are particularly focused on processes that can be used to fabricate extremely rich and complex, multi-scale geometries, such as are found in semiconductor integrated circuits and biological tissues. Recent work includes the introduction of the tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing process, …
Research Interest
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 …
Computational Manufacturing and Materials Research Laboratory
Research themes: (1) Modeling and simulation of advanced manufacturing and 3D printing systems; (2) Modeling and simulation of multiphase/composite material behavior; (3) Modeling and simulation of fire propagation and control with the Fire Research Group; (4) Modeling and simulation of UAVs and swarms; (5) Modeling and simulation of biological systems; (6) Modeling and simulation of ballistic …
Tarek I. Zohdi
Will C. Hall Family Chair in Engineering
Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering
Will C. Hall Endowed Chair
Chair of the UCB Computational & Data Science & Engineering Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
zohdi@berkeley.edu
For more information see: Professor Zohdi's CV
Research Group Website
Books and Publications
Associate Dean for Research, COE
Editor CMAME
Editor-in-Chief, Comp. Particle Mechanics
Chair, D.E. in Comp. and Data Science Eng. Program
Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Director, UC-DEWA
Director, Fire Research Group
Director, Next Generation Food Systems Center
Academic Director, SCET
Hayden Taylor
Vice Chair of Instruction
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
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.
Sara McMains
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
5145 Etcheverry HallUniversity 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
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.
Kyriakos Komvopoulos
Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
5143 Etcheverry HallUniversity of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kyriakos@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2563
For more information see: Current Classes Taught
Professor Komvopoulos has been in the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) since 1989. Before joining UCB, he was in the faculty of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1986-1989). Professor Komvopoulos is internationally known for pioneering research in surface nanosciences and nanoengineering, with important implications in several emerging technologies including communications, microelectronics, information storage, and biotechnology. He is the founder and director of the Surface Sciences and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) and the Computational Surface Mechanics Laboratory (CSML) and holds the positions of Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UCB, Faculty Scientist, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Principal Investigator, The Berkeley Stem Cell Center, and Principal Investigator, Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).
The research of Professor Komvopoulos is at the interfaces of mechanical and electrical engineering, materials sciences, surface physical chemistry, bioengineering, and biology. His work is characterized by a multidisciplinary nature and the combination of analytical and experimental techniques used to analyze complex surface and interface phenomena. His research is based on the integration of fundamentals from mechanics, materials, surface chemistry, and biology, and spans a broad range of scales, from the mesoscopic to the atomic and molecular levels.
Early research accomplishments of Professor Komvopoulos include contact deformation at submicron scales, new friction theories of surfaces interacting in the presence of physicochemically adsorbed monolayers, surface plasticity and fracture of contacting bodies, acoustic emission in surface sliding and machining, synthesis and characterization of ultrathin diamondlike and amorphous carbon films, adhesion forces in miniaturized electromechanical systems, and rheological behavior of boundary films.
In the past two decades, Professor Komvopoulos broadened his research activities, branching into the exploration of various surface microprobe techniques for atomic and molecular level surface analysis, synthesis of self-assembled organic monolayers for reducing adhesion between silicon microdevices, invention of plasma-assisted surface treatments for biopolymers (used in total joint replacements, catheters for minimally invasive treatment of diseased arteries, and cell platforms), deposition of ultrathin (a few atomic layers) amorphous carbon films by sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc for ultrahigh-density magnetic recording and heat-assisted magnetic recording, phase transformations and nanomechanical properties of shape-memory alloys (both in thin-film and bulk form) for retina disks and artery stents, a surface-specific spectroscopy technique (infrared-visible sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy) for in-situ studies of entropically driven molecular rearrangement at various biopolymer surfaces due to in-plane and out-of-plane stretching and aging effects.
Professor Komvopoulos’ most recent work includes plasma-assisted polymer surface functionalization for controlling adhesion and growth of cells, protein secretion due to mechanotransduction in articular cartilage, cell mechanics, patterned media for single-cell growth, and cell infiltration into fibrous scaffolds synthesized by electrospinning, new electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, flexible and stretchable bioelectronics, skin mechanics, and transdermal drug delivery by microneedle arrays, mechanics of biological surfaces, and synthesis of scaffolds with special cues for enhanced biofunctionality.
Professor Komvopoulos’ research is documented in 379 publications consisting of 277 papers published in peer-reviewed archival journals, 71 papers in refereed conference proceedings, 19 papers in symposium proceedings, 2 book chapters, 65 technical reports, and 10 US patents. As of June 2021, Professor Komvopoulos’ publications and patents have been cited more than 13,750 times (h-index = 62, Google Scholar). He has also authored an undergraduate-level textbook (Mechanical Testing of Engineering Materials) and co-authored two monographs (1999 Interface Tribology Towards 100 Gbit/in2; Long Term Durability of Structural Materials: Durability 2000). He has given 225 scholarly presentations at various international conferences, academic institutions, national laboratories, industries, and various media, supervised the research and dissertations of 58 graduate students (33 PhD and 25 MS) and 17 post-doctoral students, visiting faculty, and industry fellows, and consulted with a wide range of industries and law firms on various litigation matters.
Professor Komvopoulos has been elected to the grade of Fellow of STLE (2004) and ASME (2000) and has been the recipient of several awards, including NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989-1996), IBM Faculty Development Award (1990-1992), Berkeley Engineering Fund Award (1989-1990), ASME B. L. Newkirk Award (1988), and NSF Engineering Initiation Award (1987).
At UCB, Professor Komvopoulos teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Plasticity, Fracture, Fatigue, and Tribology and devotes significant time to administration duties at the Department, College, and University system-wide levels. His most recent system-wide committee service includes UC Faculty Welfare, Assembly Representative, Divisional Council, Educational Technology, Courses of Instruction, Graduate Study, and Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation.
Research Description:
Theoretical and numerical studies in nano-/micro-scale contact mechanics, tribology, mechanical behavior of bulk and thin-film materials, deposition and characterization of single and multi-layer ultrathin films by sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc methods, reliability of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), surface force microprobe techniques, surface modification of biopolymers, surface chemical functionalization for enhanced biocompatibility and cell activity, mechanotransduction effects at the single-cell and tissue levels, scaffolds for tissue engineering, and flexible/stretchable bioelectronics.
To learn more about Professor Komvopoulos’ research, please click here.
To view a list of Professor Komvopoulos’ supervised current and past graduate students and visiting scholars, please click here.
Key Publications:
To view a list of Professor Komvopoulos’ publications, please click here.
Homayoon Kazerooni
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
6147 Etcheverry HallUniversity 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 HallUniversity 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:
GX Gu and MJ Buehler. Tunable mechanical properties through texture control of polycrystalline additively manufactured materials using adjoint-based gradient optimization. Acta Mechanica, 2018, Accepted
GX Gu, CT Chen, and MJ Buehler. De novo composite design based on machine learning algorithm. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 18:19-28, 2018
GX Gu, M Takaffoli, and MJ Buehler. Hierarchically enhanced impact resistance of bioinspired composites. Advanced Materials, 29 (28), 2017
GX Gu, S Wettermark, and MJ Buehler. Algorithm driven design of fracture resistant composite materials realized through additive manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing, 17:47-54, 2017
GX Gu, F Libonati, S Wettermark, and MJ. Buehler. Printing nature: Unraveling the role of nacre’s mineral bridges. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 76:135-144, 2017
To view a complete list of Professor Gu’s publications, please visit the Gu Research Group website.
David M. Auslander
Professor of the Graduate School
Professor of the Graduate School
5120 Etcheverry HallUniversity of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
dma@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-4930
For more information see: Current Classes Taught
Research Description:
Automatic control system design, mini-microcomputer system bioengineering, modeling and simulation of dynamic systems, process control.