From 2015-2022, our team has worked together in the context of a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI). Our primary goal is to create a foundational, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the principles of high energy density, repeated-use systems that are propelled by stored elastic energy and released using latch-like mechanisms. Living creatures exemplify these principles and still exceed the capabilities of engineered systems.
For more information, please contact symposium2022@impulsivemuri.com
Primary faculty organizers:
Prof. Alfred Crosby, PhD, Polymer Science & Engineering Department, UMass Amherst
Prof. Sheila Patek, PhD, Biology Department, Duke University
Prof. Manny Azizi, PhD, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine
Primary Early Career Researchers organizers:
Sathvik Divi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Justin Jorge, Biology Department, Duke University
Elizabeth Mendoza, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine
Dr. Suzanne Cox, Biology Department, Duke University
Primary staff organizer: Jenn Green, UMass Amherst
Additional MURI Team organizers and contributors:
Faculty:
Prof. Sarah Bergbreiter, PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Prof. Robert Wood, PhD, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Prof. Greg Sutton, PhD, Dept. of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln
Postdocs:
Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, PhD, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
David Sleboda, PhD, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine
Elayne Thomas, PhD, Polymer Science & Engineering Department, UMass Amherst
Graduate students:
Chloe Goode, Dept. of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln
Sukjun Kim, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Nolan Miller, Polymer Science & Engineering Department, UMass Amherst
Emma Steinhardt, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Meredith Taghon, Polymer Science & Engineering Department, UMass Amherst
Luis Viornery, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Photographs and artwork courtesy of Roy Caldwell, Greg Freeburn, Emma Steinhardt, and Second Bay Studios.
