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Research

Research

Research Areas

Comparative Biomechanics

We study how animals move and function using concepts from biology, physics, engineering, and other disciplines. Our research includes the study of morphology, biological materials and other biological components to gain insights into their behavior, evolution, and adaptations to different environments.

Specifically, we are interested in

How do different body shapes and sizes affect an animal's ability to move efficiently?
How do different types of biological materials allow animals to produce and control movement?
How do animals use their appendages and body to generate lift and propel themselves through different environments?

Soft Robotics

Soft robotics is a field of robotics that focuses on the design and development of robots made from soft, flexible materials. Having soft body parts similar to living organisms allows robots to interact with the environment and adapt to it in a more natural way. In our group, we are interested in how the flexibility of body parts affects the performance of locomotion in various complex environments.

Swarm Robotics

We design and control groups of simple and relatively inexpensive robots to study how they coordinate their actions and behaviors using local communication and interaction with their environment. We are specifically interested in the terrestrial swarm that can perform tasks that are beyond the capabilities of a single robot.

Current Research Topics

Limbless locomotion via shape changes
Biohybrid Robots
Underwater soft/rigid burrowing robot mechanisms
Soft modular legged robots
Aquatic and terrestrial multilegged locomotion
The function of appendages in quadruped locomotion
Limbless robotic locomotion in a confined environment via feedback control
Sprawling quadruped locomotion on complex terrain
Flagellated locomotion in biological and robotic systems
Collective excavation
Collective object transport in terrestrial animals and robots

Current Collaborators

Dr. Ming Hu, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Ashley Thrall, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Jason Carely, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Chen Feng, NYU
Dr. Nikolaus Correll, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Meenal Datta, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Ersin Das, Illinois Institute of Technology
Dr. Valentina Di Santo, UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. Francesco Boselli, Durham University, UK
Dr. Jasmine A. Nirody, University of Chicago
Dr. Tingyu Cheng, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Yanliang Zhang, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Jyotirmoy Deshmukh, University of Southern California
Dr. Xiantao Fan, Cornell University
Dr. Alexander Dowling, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Frank Fish, West Chester University
Dr. Quang Tran, MAYO Clinic
Dr. Oliver Gross, UC San Diego
Dr. Margaret Coad, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Peter Schroeder, California Institute of Technology
Dr. Matt McHenry, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Olaf Ellers, Bowdoin College, Maine
Dr. Amy Johnson, Bowdoin College, Maine
Dr. Michael Lemmon, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Dervis Can Vural, University of Notre Dame

Past Collaborators

Dr. Baris Unal, EmergingDx
Dr. Jianing Wu, Sun Yat-sen University
Dr. Hai Lin, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Rebecca Kramer, Yale University
Dr. Osman Dogan Yirmibesoglu, Boston Dynamics AI Institute
Dr. Hoeseok Yang, Santa Clara University, CA