Our research focuses on the dynamics of mechanical systems and frequently draws upon rigid body dynamics, continuum mechanics, robotics, and biology. Current interests include discrete elastic rods, the dynamics of flexible risers, models for soft robot locomotion, and fluid-structure interaction. We use a combined analytical, computational, and experimental approach with the goal of elucidating the …
Research Interest
Theoretical & Applied Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Research focus: Theoretical Fluid Dynamics; Nonlinear Wave Mechanics; Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena; Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy); Nonlinear Dynamical Systems; Fluid Flow Control.
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 …
FLOW Lab
Our research focuses on the advancement of the physical understanding of high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows. The present focus is on flows relevant to energy production, offshore applications, and naval hydrodynamics. Our research combines advanced experimental techniques, instrument development, and theoretical model development.
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
Faculty Director, Masters of Advanced Studies-Engineering
Hannah Stuart
Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professorship in Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professorship in Mechanical Engineering
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.
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.
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.
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/
Featured in Berkeley News: https://engineering.
Featured in Berkeley News: https://engineering.
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/
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.
Oliver M. O’Reilly
Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
oreilly@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-0877
For more information see: Dynamics Lab
Current Classes Taught
Oliver M. O’Reilly is the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Faculty Athletics Representative, and a Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley
He received his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). Subsequently, he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he studied under Phil Holmes and Frank Moon. After spending two years as a postdoc at the Institut für Mechanik at ETH-Zürich under Jürg Dual, he joined the faculty in Mechanical Engineering at Cal in 1992. He has previously served as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate and as an Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society.
His interests span the fields of continuum mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. He has a broad range of specializations including directed (or Cosserat) theories of deformable bodies, constrained rigid body dynamics, contact mechanics, linear and nonlinear vibrations and linear and nonlinear dynamics of deformable bodies. He has applied these interests to a range of applications including soft robots, MEMS resonators, brake squeal, the dynamics of toys, motorcycle navigation, axially moving media, artificial and natural satellites, spinal kinematics and vehicle collision dynamics.
O’Reilly has coauthored over 100 archival journal articles, written three textbooks, coauthored a monograph, and is a co-inventor on two patents. He has also received multiple teaching awards including U.C. Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999, the Pi-Tau-Sigma Professor of the Year Award in 2003 and the Tau-Beta-Pi Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award in 2013. He is also a recent recipient of the Berkeley Faculty Service Award.
To view Professor O’Reilly’s CV, please click here.
Research Description:
Dynamics, Vibrations, Continuum Mechanics
Key Publications:
To view a list of Professor O’Reilly’s publications, please visit the Dynamics Lab website.
Simo Mäkiharju
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
6119 Etcheverry HallUniversity of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
makiharju@berkeley.edu
For more information see: FLOW Lab
Current Classes Taught
Simo A. Mäkiharju is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley. Prof. Mäkiharju’s undergraduate studies were in Energy Technology at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. In 2005 he received his Mechanical Engineering M.Sc. from the Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Michigan. His graduate research focused on the reduction of hydrodynamic drag by gas injection and the development of a time-resolved x-ray densitometry imaging system for the study of multiphase flows. He continued at the University of Michigan as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2012-2014) and as an Assistant Research Scientist (2014-2015) investigating single- and multiphase flow mixing in channel flows while continuing the development of x-ray based 2D and 3D flow measurement techniques. Starting as an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley in January of 2016, he is continuing to pursue his research interest in advancing the physical understanding of high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows through experimental research, primarily through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques.
Research Description:
One of the central objectives of Professor Mäkiharju’s research is to advance the physical understanding of high Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows primarily through experimental research, and through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques. Multiphase flows are encountered in almost every aspect of modern life, including offshore applications, biological flows, energy production, chemical processing, and naval hydrodynamics. Specific topics Professor Mäkiharju has worked on include the reduction drag on marine vehicles, mitigation of damage and noise caused by cavitation in naval and industrial applications, and efficient handling of single- and multiphase flows in energy production applications.
Key Publications:
To view a list of Professor Mäkiharju’s publications, please click here.
Fai Ma
Professor of Applied Mechanics
6127 Etcheverry HallUniversity of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
fma@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-6527
For more information see: Current Classes Taught
To view Professor Ma’s CV, please click here.
Research Description:
Dynamical Systems with Inherent Uncertainties, Vibration, Damping and Hysteresis
Key Publications:
To view a list of Professor Ma’s publications, please click here.
M. Reza Alam
American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering
Vice Chair, Equity & Inclusion
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
reza.alam@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-2591
For more information see: TAF Lab
Current Classes Taught
Born in Yazd, a small historic city at the geographic center of Iran, Reza received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Applied Mechanics from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He then joined the Mechanical Engineering program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2005, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008, and then served as a Postdoctoral associate (2008-2009) and Lecturer (2009-2011) at MIT. In July 2011 Reza joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, CA, as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Research Description:
Theoretical Fluid Dynamics, Nonlinear Wave Mechanics, Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena, Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy), Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Fluid Flow Control
Key Publications:
Publications in 2015
Jalali, M. A.; Khoshnood, A., and Alam, M.-R., “Microswimmer-Induced Chaotic Mixing“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), In Press, [PDF]
Zareei, A. and Alam M.-R., “Cloaking in Shallow Water Waves via Nonlinear Medium Transformation“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), Volume 778, pp. 273-287
Timmerberg, S, Börner, T., Shakeri, M., Ghorbani, R. and Alam M.-R., “The “Wave Bridge” For Bypassing Oceanic Wave Momentum“, Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy (2015), [PDF]
Couston, L. A., Mei, C. C., and Alam, M.-R. “Landslide Tsunamis in Lakes“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Volume 772 / June 2015, pp 784- 804. [PDF]
Nia, H. T., Jain, A. D., Liu, Y., Alam, M.-R., Barnas, R., and Makris N.C., “The evolution of air resonance power efficiency in the violin and its ancestors“ Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, A 471: 20140905. (2015). [PDF]
Börner, T., and Alam, M.-R. “Real Time Hybrid Modeling for Ocean Wave Energy Converters“, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 43, pages 784–795, (2015).
Please visit the TAF Lab website for the previous years’ publications.