University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

Research Interest

Peter Hosemann

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Nuclear Engineering
Chair, Department of Nuclear Engineering
E.S. Kuh Chair of Engineering

4151 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
peterh@berkeley.edu

For more information see: Nuclear Materials Group

Professor Peter Hosemann received his MS (2005) and PhD (2008) in Material Science from the Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria. He conducted his PhD research on lead bismuth eutectic corrosion, ion beam irradiations and microscale mechanical testing at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He continued his research at Los Alamos National Laboratory as post doc and joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2010. Professor Hosemann has authored more than 200 per reviewed publications since 2008. In 2014 he won the best reviewer of the journal of nuclear materials award, the ANS literature award and in 2015 he won the TMS early career faculty fellow award and the AIME Robert Lansing Hardy award. In 2018 he became the chair of the nuclear engineering department and in 2020 he was named as the E.S. Kuh chair of engineering. In 2021 he became associate editor of the journal of applied physics. While being dedicated to his research and teaching he also leads the UC Berkeley Bladesmithing team which won the title of “best example of a traditional blade” for UC Berkeley and is the lead faculty for the CalSol solar car racing team which won the American Solar challenge for Berkeley in 2017.


Research Description:

Professor Peter Hosemann’s research is centered around materials in extreme environments and materials processing. His focus lies in mechanical performance and microstructural characterization of structural materials as well as in environmental degradation of materials in extreme environments. Multi scale mechanical property quantification and their implications for engineering performance as well as corrosion in unusual environments are part of the research. Furthermore, professor Hosemann is interested in the manufacturing of materials (from ore to product) and most recently in micromanufacturing of geometries using short, pulsed lasers.

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Hosemann’s publications, please click here.

Vassilia Zorba

Associate Adjunct Professor

6163 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
vzorba@lbl.gov

For more information see: Laser Technologies Group

Professor Vassilia Zorba is the Group Leader for the Laser Technologies Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA. She is also an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the development of the next-generation of laser tools for advanced sensors and laser-based manufacturing. Her research interests include ultrafast laser-material interactions, non-linear optics, remote sensing, laser-induced plasma chemistry, and laser ablation-based chemical analysis in electrochemical energy storage, with emphasis on next-generation Li-ion batteries. Her work has also focused on femtosecond laser surface structuring technologies and biomimetic material functionalization. Professor Zorba’s credits include 72 publications in peer-reviewed journals, more than 40 invited, keynote and plenary talks and a 2011 R&D 100 Technology Award. She serves as a senior editor for the Springer-Nature journal Applied Physics A and is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Applied Spectroscopy and Spectrochimica Acta Part B.

 

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


Research Description:

Energy Science & Technology; MEMS/Nano; Materials

More information about Professor Zorba’s research can be found on her group website, teamd.lbl.gov.

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Zorba’s publications on Google Scholar, please click here.

Medical Polymer Group

The MPG represents an interdisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate students who work closely with faculty, surgeons, and industry scientists in order to develop biomaterials for structural function in orthopedic applications. We bring together academic, industrial and clinical perspectives to improve designs and materials used in total joint reconstruction and related devices. Our research broadly …

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 …

Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory

Our lab is focused on soft tissue biomechanics and tissue regeneration. Specifically, our goal is to understand the mechanical function of the healthy, degenerated and injured soft tissues, including the intervertebral disc and articular cartilage, in order to develop more physiologically relevant repair strategies. Injury, through herniation, or degeneration may lead to debilitating lower back …

Robert O. Ritchie

Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Materials Science & Engineering

216 Hearst Mining Memorial Building
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 4720-1760
ritchie@berkeley.edu
510) 642-3803

For more information see: Ritchie Group
Current Classes Taught

To view Professor Ritchie’s CV, please visit the Ritchie Group website.


Research Description:

Metallic Glasses, Hypersonic Materials, Mixed Mode Fracture of Human Cortical Bone, Fatigue and Fracture of Mineralized Biological Tissue, Fatigue and Fracture of SiC at High Temperatures, Fatigue and Fracture of Biomedical Materials, Fatigue and Wear of Silicon Structural Films, Fracture and Fatigue of Mo-Si-B High Temperature Alloys, Grain Boundary Engineering in Promoting High-Cycle Fatigue Resistance, Mechanisms of Fatigue and Fracture of Metal/Ceramic Interfaces, NiTi Shape Memory Alloys for Biomedical Applications, Toughness in Brittle Materials: Atomic-resolution Studies of Fracture in SiC

 

Key Publications:

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

Lisa Pruitt

Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering

Distinguished 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.

Ravi Prasher

Adjunct Professor

University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 4720-1740
prasher@berkeley.edu
(510) 486-7291

For more information see: Prasher Research Group
Current Classes Taught

Ravi Prasher is the Associate Lab Director of the Energy Technologies Area and Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Dr. Prasher joined Berkeley Lab in June, 2015. Previously, he was vice president of product development of Sheetak Inc., a startup developing solid state thermoelectric energy converters. He relocated to India for a while to develop these technologies for the rural Indian market. Dr. Prasher earlier worked as one of the first program directors at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). While there, he created the Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT) and the High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage (HEATS) programs. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Prasher was the technology development manager of the thermal management group at Intel. He was also an adjunct professor in the school of engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) from 2005-2013, where his research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.

 

Dr. Prasher has published more than 120 archival journal papers in top science and engineering journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Physical Review Letters, Joule and Journal of Heat Transfer. He holds more than 35 patents in the area of thermoelectrics, microchannels, heat pipes, thermal interface materials, nanostructured materials and devices. He has served on the Ph.D. committee of students at Stanford and ASU. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was the recipient of an Intel achievement award (the highest award for technical achievement in Intel). He is also a recipient of the outstanding young engineer award from the components and packaging society of IEEE. He has served on the editorial committee of Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources, Nano and Microscale Thermophysical Engineering, the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology and ASME Journal of Heat Transfer. He has given multiple invited talks all over the world on nano to macroscale thermal energy processes and systems. More information about Ravi’s research can be found on his group website, prasherlab.lbl.gov.

 

Dr. Prasher obtained his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Ph.D. from Arizona State University.

 

To view Dr. Prasher’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Dr. Prasher’s primary research interests are fundamental and applied studies of Nano-to-macroscale thermal energy process and systems, using both theoretical and experimental methods. Some topics of current interest include thermal transport in Lithium ion batteries, microelectronics thermal management using microfluidics, solar thermal energy conversion, high density thermochemical storage, solar thermal desalination, heat and mass transfer in roll-to-roll manufacturing process and applications of machine learning in inverse design of optical metamaterials.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Dr. Prasher’s publications, please click here. You can also view Dr. Prasher’s profile on google scholar.

Grace D. O’Connell

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, College of Engineering

5122 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
g.oconnell@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3739

For more information see: O'Connell Lab
Current Classes Taught

Education
2001 – 2004 B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
2004 – 2009 Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
2009 – 2013 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University


Research Description:

Biomechanics of cartilage and intervertebral disc; tissue engineering; continuum modeling of soft tissues; intervertebral disc function, degeneration, and regeneration

 

Key Publications:

2015

Tan AR, Alegre-Aguaron E, O’Connell GD, VandenBerg CD, Aaron RK, Vunjak-Novakovic G, Bulinski JC, Ateshian GA, Hung CT. Passage-Dependent Relationship between Mesenchymal Stem Cell Mobilization and Chondrogenic Potential. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, In Press

 

2014

O’Connell GD, Newman IB, Carapezza MA. Effect of long-term osmotic loading culture on matrix synthesis from intervertebral disc cells. BioResearch, Oct 1;3(5):242-9, 2014.

 

Ponnurangam S, O’Connell GD, Chernyshova I, Woods K, Somasundaran P, Hung CT. Ceria nanoparticles modulate development and interleukin response of chondrocyte-seeded hydrogel constructs. Tissue Engineering, Part A, Nov; 20(21-22):2908-19, 2014.

 

O’Connell GD, Nims R, Green J, Cigan A, Ateshian GA, Hung CT. Time and dose-dependent effects of chondroitinase ABC on growth of engineered cartilage. eCells and Materials Journal, Vol. 27: 312-320, 2014.

 

To view a complete list of Professor O’Connell’s publications from previous years, please visit the Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory website.

Kyriakos Komvopoulos

Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5143 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kyriakos@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2563

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Theoretical and numerical studies in nano/microscale contact mechanics, tribology, mechanical behavior of thin-film structures, deposition and characterization of ultrathin films by sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc methods, stress analysis, fracture, and adhesion of dynamic microdevices, plasma-assisted surface modification of biopolymers, surface chemical functionalization for enhanced biocompatibility and cell activity, mechanotransduction effects at the single-cell and tissue levels, and electrospun fibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering.

 

To learn more about Professor Komvopoulos’ research, please click here.

 

To view a list of Professor Komvopoulos’ supervised graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars, please click here.

 

To view a biographical sketch of Professor Komvopoulos, please click here.

 

To view the content of courses taught by Professor Komvopoulos, please click here.

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Komvopoulos’ publications, please click here.

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.