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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210702T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210702T100000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210621T133901Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210621T133901Z
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SUMMARY:Doctoral Dissertation: "Development of Robot-based Cognitive and Motor Assessment Tools for Stroke and HIV Neurorehabilitation" (Kevin Bui)
DESCRIPTION:The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Michelle Johnson are pleased to announce the Doctoral Dissertation Defense of Kevin Bui. \nZoom link:\nhttps://upenn.zoom.us/j/96436500457?pwd=OUVTSjNpNWp1Z0dGVnpyaVJUa0VHQT09\n\nMeeting ID: 964 3650 0457\nPasscode: 571655
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/doctoral-dissertation-development-of-robot-based-cognitive-and-motor-assessment-tools-for-stroke-and-hiv-neurorehabilitation-kevin-bui/
LOCATION:https://upenn.zoom.us/j/96715197752
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Bioengineering":MAILTO:be@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210706T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210706T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210625T162928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210625T162928Z
UID:10006812-1625567400-1625572800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "Nanocellulose Fibers as Reinforcement to Improve Strength and Toughness in Structural Materials"
DESCRIPTION:Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) are a naturally abundant polymer and have superior mechanical properties\, high aspect ratios\, are transparent and biodegradable\, which make them attractive to be used in structural materials. As a reinforcing phase\, CNFs have the potential to improve the mechanical properties of polymer materials. While there are active research efforts aimed at incorporating CNFs into polymers for use as structural materials\, the field is still in its infancy due to the challenge of achieving good compatibility and the challenge of maintaining strength while trying to enhance fracture toughness and crack growth resistance. \nIn the first part of this study\, one dimensional composite fibers are fabricated using TEMPO-CNF to increase the strength and toughness of the common polymer PMMA\, a hydrophobic and challenging material to bond with CNFs. The composite fibers were prepared via solvent exchange\, melt-spinning and drawing to obtain fibers of diameters around 200 microns. Tensile testing\, image correlation to measure the strains\, and fracture test with flat faced edge crack demonstrated the enhancement of modulus\, strength\, and fracture toughness through the addition of CNFs to PMMA. Specifically\, an enhancement of 35% in Modulus\, 19% in Strength and 100% in fracture toughness were observed at 1% by wt. CNF content. \nThe second part is a distinct but interrelated research thrust to the traditional polymer integration. Composite pure cellulose sheets consisting of micro- and nanocellulose are fabricated. This study uses printing and subsequent drying processes to infuse nanocellulose into the paper matrix in various patterns to increase the strength and toughness of the network. Tensile tests and single edge notch tension (SENT) tests are performed on the specimens to evaluate their tensile and fracture behavior. Linear elastic finite element modeling is used to help guide the experimental work. This work has potential applications in using nanocellulose fibers to realize fully degradable alternatives to thin plastic sheets.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-nanocellulose-fibers-as-reinforcement-to-improve-strength-and-toughness-in-structural-materials/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210709T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210709T100000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210706T160206Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210706T160206Z
UID:10006818-1625821200-1625824800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE PhD Dissertation Defense: "Balancing Fit and Complexity in Learned Representations"
DESCRIPTION:Thesis Title: Balancing Fit and Complexity in Learned Representations \nAbstract: This dissertation is about learning representations of functions while restricting complexity. In machine learning\, maximizing the fit and minimizing the complexity are two conflicting objectives. Common approaches to this problem involve solving a regularized empirical minimization problem\, with a complexity measure regularizer and a regularizing parameter that controls the trade-off between the two objectives. The regularizing parameter has to be tuned by repeatedly solving the problem and does not have a straightforward interpretation. This work formulates the problem as a minimization of the complexity measure subject to the fit constraints. \nThe issue of complexity is tackled in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHSs) by introducing a novel integral representation of a family of RKHSs that allows arbitrarily placed kernels of different widths. The functional estimation problem is then written as a sparse functional problem\, which despite being non-convex and infinite-dimensional can be solved in the dual domain. This problem achieves representations of lower complexity than traditional methods because it searches over a family of RKHS rather than a subspace of a single RKHS. \nThe integral representation is used in a federated classification setting\, in which a global model is trained from a federation of agents. This is possible due to the observation that the dual optimal variables give information about the samples which are fundamental to the classification. Each agent\, therefore\, learns a local model and sends only the fundamental samples over the network. This creates a federated learning method that requires only one network communication. Its solution is proven to asymptotically converges to that of traditional classification. \nNext\, a theory for constraint specification is established. An optimization problem with a constraint for each sample point can easily become infeasible if the constraints are too tight. In contrast\, relaxing all constraints can cause the solution to not fit the data well. The constrained specification method relaxes the constraints until the marginal cost of changing a constraint is equal to the marginal complexity measure. This problem is proven to be feasible and solvable\, and shown empirically to be resilient to outliers and corrupted training data. \nFor Zoom link\, please email Elizabeth Kopeczky at: kopeczky@seas.upenn.edu.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/phd-dissertation-defense-maria-peifer/
LOCATION:PA
CATEGORIES:Dissertation or Thesis Defense
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210709T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210709T140000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210629T200051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T200051Z
UID:10006814-1625835600-1625839200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM MSE Thesis Defense: "Design and Characterization of an Origami-Inspired Robot that Swims via Jet Propulsion"
DESCRIPTION:Underwater swimmers present unique opportunities for using bodily reconfiguration for self-propulsion. Origami-inspired designs are low-cost\, fast to fabricate\, robust\, and can be used to create compliant mechanisms useful in energy-efficient underwater locomotion. This thesis demonstrates an origami-inspired robot that can change its body shape to ingest and expel water\, creating a jet that propels it forward similarly to cephalopods. We use the magic ball origami pattern\, which can transform between ellipsoidal (low volume) and spherical (high volume) shapes. We modified the pattern by tuning the number of its rows and columns and reported their stiffness and mechanical properties. A custom actuation mechanism contracts the robot to take in fluid\, and the inherent mechanics of the magic ball returns the robot to its natural shape upon release. We describe the design and control of this robot and verify its locomotion in a water tank. The resulting robot is able to move forward at 6.7 cm/s (0.2 body lengths/s)\, with a cost of transport of 2.0. The discussion in this thesis is mainly based on the first-generation prototype of the robot\, a future design plan to improve the robot is explained as well.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-mse-thesis-defense-design-and-characterization-of-an-origami-inspired-robot-that-swims-via-jet-propulsion/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Dissertation or Thesis Defense,Master's
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210712T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210712T130000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210520T134233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210520T134233Z
UID:10006793-1626091200-1626094800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:PSOC Webinar: Indrajit Tah & Chris Price
DESCRIPTION:Join Zoom Meeting: \nhttps://upenn.zoom.us/j/99334915941?pwd=eDRXV1lITDlySXFyRHUyUzdmRldoQT09 \nMeeting ID: 993 3491 5941 \nPasscode: 189247 \nPSOC@Penn Summer Webinars 2021 \nContact manu@seas.upenn.edu with any questions \nIndrajit Tah 12:00-12:30 PM \nChris Price 12:30-1:00 PM
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/psoc-webinar-indrajit-tah-chris-price/
LOCATION:https://upenn.zoom.us/j/96715197752
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Postdoctoral
ORGANIZER;CN="PSOC":MAILTO:manu@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210712T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210712T153000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210707T185041Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210707T185041Z
UID:10006828-1626096600-1626103800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE PhD Dissertation Defense | "Structures Formed By Colloids at Curved Fluid Interfaces"
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nColloidal particles accumulate and organize at fluid interfaces via capillary interactions. We study pair interactions and structure formation around spherical particles with pinned contact lines. Particles attract to apparent contact and organize in near trapped structures that reflect the underlying curvature field. We have derived pair potentials to describe these interactions. The particles distort the surrounding interface in which we calculate the distortion area and hence capillary energy around a colloid and its dependence on proximity to neighbors and on the underlying interface curvature. Dimer formation alignment with respect to principal axes and dynamics compare favorably to prediction. We use this pair potential in Monte Carlo simulations to compare to the structures formed. Extensions to address elongated particles are discussed.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-phd-dissertation-defense-structures-formed-by-colloids-at-curved-fluid-interfaces/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email CBE for link
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210713T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210713T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210629T220346Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T220346Z
UID:10006815-1626172200-1626177600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "A Methodology for Self-Replicating Robots from Ice"
DESCRIPTION:In the late 1940s\, John von Neumann first introduced the concept of self-replication as a way of furthering cellular reproduction research. By the late ‘50s and ’60s this research diverges along two separate paths: cellular automata replication with a focus on biological systems and robotics/machine replication. Generally the work in robotic systems focuses on the theoretical. While there has been some work on physical systems they are not deployable outside of a laboratory setting and are in fact self-assembling systems rather than self-replicating systems. \nIn this talk I will present research towards a self-replicating and self-reconfigurable system which uses found materials. These projects work towards solving a limitation of self-replicating robotic systems and their inability to utilize materials at the deployment sites for replication. First I review the current state of the art in self-replication and then present our work to date with found materials. Our contributions include: (1) a low-cost technique for quantifying the material properties of tree branches and building structures with them and (2) highlighting\, from the perspective of energy efficiency\, the manufacturing methods behind a proof-of-concept robot made from ice.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-a-methodology-for-self-replicating-robots-from-ice/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210713T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210713T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210629T173019Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T173019Z
UID:10006813-1626174000-1626177600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Ph.D. Thesis Defense: "From Deployments of Elder Care Service Robots to the Design of Affordable Low-Complexity End-Effectors and Novel Manipulation Techniques"
DESCRIPTION:Older adults are forming a much larger percentage of the population leading to a strain in the healthcare sector. It is expected that the population aged 65 and over in the United States alone will double in the next 30 years\, and similarly worldwide. Despite the abundance of facilities to accommodate the growing older adult population\, there is a shortage of caregivers to staff these facilities. With the scarcity of care options available\, and necessity aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the elderly\, low-cost robots may be a creative and vastly accessible solution for mobile and manipulation tasks that would normally be handled by a caregiver. \nThis thesis proposes an investigation on both behavioral and technical aspects of human-robot interaction (HRI) in elder care settings\, in view of an affordable platform capable of executing desired tasks. The behavioral investigation combines a qualitative study with focus groups and surveys from not only the elders’ standpoint\, but also from the standpoint of healthcare professionals to investigate suitable tasks to be accomplished by a service robot in such environments. Through multiple deployments of various robot embodiments at actual elder care facilities (such as at a low-income Supportive Apartment Living\, SAL\, and Program of All-Inclusive Care\, PACE Centers) and interaction with older adults\, design guidelines are developed to improve on both interaction and usability aspects. This need assessment informed the technical investigation of this work\, where we initially propose picking and placing objects using end-effectors without internal mobility (or zero degrees-of-freedom\, DOF)\, considering both quasi-static (tipping and regrasping as in-hand manipulation) and dynamic approaches. Maximizing grasping versatility by allowing robots to grasp multiple objects sequentially using a single end-effector and DOF is also proposed. These novel manipulation techniques and end-effector designs focus on minimizing robot hardware usage and cost\, while still performing complex tasks and complying with safety constraints imposed by the elder care facilities.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-ph-d-thesis-defense-from-deployments-of-elder-care-service-robots-to-the-design-of-affordable-low-complexity-end-effectors-and-novel-manipulation-techniques/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210707T190014Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210707T190014Z
UID:10006829-1626343200-1626350400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE PhD Dissertation Defense | "Bijels for Continuous Reactive Separation"
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nSeveral chemical processes involve the use of mutually immiscible molecules\, for example a water-soluble catalyst is used in combination with oil-soluble reagents to produce water soluble products. There are two possible strategies to run these processes. A mutual solvent can be used to promote mixing of the otherwise immiscible molecules; however\, such a system would make the separation of the product challenging. Biphasic systems comprising two immiscible phases provide a very powerful platform because their ability to host both polar and apolar species and at the same time allowing separation of molecules of different polarity by simple phase partitioning\, without relying on complex and often energy intensive separation processes. Such a strategy is employed in several industrially relevant scenarios like fatty acid and pharmaceutical manufacturing for which the desired product is made from an oil-soluble precursor\, while the desired products and the catalyst are water-soluble. Two forms of biphasic reactive separation systems have been widely studied: emulsion-based and membrane-based systems. There are several examples of successful implementation of simultaneous reactive separation based on emulsions and membranes; however\, the efficiency and effectiveness of these systems can be further enhanced. Significantly\, all emulsion based systems comprise a continuous phase and a droplet phase; the discrete nature of the droplets makes the supply or reagent or retrieval of product challenging. Although continuous processing is possible\, membrane reactors have limitations in their interfacial area. \nA recently developed class of soft materials\, bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels or bijels provide opportunity to overcome the shortcomings of emulsions and membrane-based biphasic reactors. Bijels have a bicontinuous architecture which allows intimate contact between the two fluid phases; moreover\, bijels provide a significantly higher water/oil interfacial area than membranes. Traditionally bijels are made by triggering the spinodal decomposition of a binary mixture of fluids either by temperature change or co-solvent removal; the three dimensional bicontinuous structure arising from spinodal decomposition has several advantages since both the water and the oil phases are co-continuous and therefore allow for the continuous transport of chemicals throughout its domains. Despite these promising features\, several aspects of bijels must be further addressed to enable their application as reactive media. For examples\, bijels are fragile; they lose their microscopic and macroscopic structure under mechanical (e.g. flow\, agitation) and chemical stresses (e.g. pH change). Moreover\, most bijel formulations are unsuitable for system involving biological molecules such as enzymes\, as they require surfactants to control nanoparticle wetting properties. This study addresses these shortcomings and develops simple and inexpensive methods to engineer bijels for reactive separation. Reactive separation is successfully demonstrated in these bijels in batch mode. Lastly\, for the first time\, bijels are used for continuous reactive separation; bijel-based reactor conversion is compared to membrane based reactors and simple batch stirred tank reactors. Future studies will include the further development of bijels microreactor design and its development as a potentially disruptive technology in multiphase catalysis.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-phd-dissertation-defense-bijels-for-continuous-reactive-separation/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email CBE for link
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210709T164717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210709T164717Z
UID:10006830-1626343200-1626350400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE PhD Dissertation Defense | "Diverse Roles of Nuclear Intermediate Filaments in Proliferating Cells"
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nEmbryonic tissues and cancer have in common the fact that they are both highly proliferative tissues rapidly moving through the cell cycle\, as opposed to most other differentiated tissues in an adult. DNA damage can arrest some embryonic cells but genetic instability is a hallmark of cancer. This thesis studies the contrasting role of two nuclear intermediate filaments – Lamin A and Lamin B1 in the proliferating cells of embryonic hearts and cancer. Lamin B1 is upregulated together with proliferation genes in at least 15 cancers curated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)\, whereas Lamin A trends align with ‘matrix mechanosensititve’ genes. With physicochemical principles in mind\, we show Lamin B1 scales with many mitosis genes in cancer\, and experiments reveal its role in promoting cell cycle and direct regulation by the cell cycle transcription factor FOXM1. The genes that scale are used in Scaling-informed Machine Learning (SIML) to better predict overall patient survival and to better identify cell lineage in single cell RNA profiles. A distinct role of Lamin A is revealed by experiments on the first organ in its first days – the heart – which show Lamin A levels are modulated in interphase cells through phosphorylation in response to acto-myosin stress. Lamin A levels determine the probability of nuclear rupture and subsequent DNA damage\, telomere attrition\, and cell cycle arrest. Nuclear lamins thus have different roles in responding to and regulating cell cycle.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-phd-dissertation-defense-diverse-roles-of-nuclear-intermediate-filaments-in-proliferating-cells/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email CBE for link
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T140000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210712T210417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210712T210417Z
UID:10006833-1626354000-1626357600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM PhD Thesis Defense: "Modular Robots Morphology Transformation and Task Execution"
DESCRIPTION:Self-reconfigurable modular robots are composed of a small set of modules with uniform docking interfaces. Different from conventional robots that are custom-built and optimized for specific tasks\, modular robots are able to adapt to many different activities\, and handle hardware and software failures by rearranging their components. This reconfiguration capability allows these systems to exist in a variety of morphologies\, and the introduced flexibility enables self-reconfigurable modular robots to handle a much wider range of tasks\, but also complicates the design\, control\, and planning. \nThis thesis considers a hierarchy framework in order to deploy modular robots in the real world: the robot first identifies its current morphology\, then reconfigures itself into a new morphology if needed\, and finally executes either manipulation or locomotion tasks. A reliable system architecture is necessary to handle a large number of modules. The number of possible morphologies constructed by modules increases exponentially as the number of modules grows\, and these morphologies usually have many degrees of freedom with complex constraints. In this thesis\, hardware platforms and several control methods and planning algorithms are developed to build this hierarchy framework leading to the system-level deployment of modular robots\, including a hybrid modular robot (SMORES-EP) and a modular truss robot (VTT). Graph representations of modular robots are introduced as well as several algorithms for morphology identification. Efficient mobile-style reconfiguration strategies are explored for hybrid modular robots\, and a real-time planner based on optimal control is developed to perform dexterous manipulation tasks. For modular truss robots\, configuration space is studied and a hybrid planning framework (sampling-based and search-based) is presented to handle reconfiguration activities. A non-impact rolling locomotion planner is then developed to drive an arbitrary truss robot in an environment.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-phd-thesis-defense-modular-robots-morphology-transformation-and-task-execution/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T110000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210702T201753Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210702T201753Z
UID:10006816-1626688800-1626692400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM PhD Thesis Defense: "Design of Proprioceptive Legged Robots"
DESCRIPTION:It has been twenty years since the advent of the first power-autonomous legged robots\, yet they have still not yet been deployed at scale. One fundamental challenge in legged machines is that actuators must perform work at relatively high speed in swing but also at high torque in stance. Legged machines must also be able to “feel” the reaction forces in both normal (to switch from swing to stance control) and tangential (to detect slip or stubbing) directions for appropriate gait-level control. This “feeling” can be accomplished by explicit force/torque sensors in the foot/leg/actuator\, or by measuring the deflection of a series mechanical spring. In this thesis we analyse machines that obtain this force information directly through the implementation of highly backdriveable actuators that require no additional sensors (apart from those already required for commutation). \nWe address the holistic design of robots with backdriveable actuators including motor\, transmission\, compliance\, degrees of freedom\, and leg design. Moreover\, this work takes such actuators to the conceptual limit by removing the gearbox entirely and presenting the design and construction of the first direct-drive legged robot family (a monopod\, a biped\, and a quadruped). The actuator analysis that made these direct-drive machines possible has gained traction in state of the art modestly geared machines (legged robots as well as robot arms)\, many of which now use the same motors. A novel leg design (the symmetric five-bar\, where the “knee” is allowed to ride above the “hip”) halves the wasted Joule heating per unit of torque produced over the workspace compared to a conventional serial design\, making the 40 cm hip-to-hip Minitaur platform possible without violating the thermal limit of its motors. A means of comparing actuator transparency (the curve representing collision energy vs. contact information) is presented and is used to compare the performance of actuators with similar continuous torque but vastly different gear ratios (1:1\, 4.4:1\, 51:1). This transparency can be used to show the different outcomes in a representative task where the actuators must “feel” a ball on a track through contact and then recirculate to “cage” the ball before the energy required to “feel” has caused the ball to roll out of the workspace. For a 50g rubber ball\, the direct drive actuator is able to successfully accomplish the task\, but the 4.4:1 actuator is not able to cage the ball in time\, and the 51:1 actuator cannot feel the ball at all before pushing it out of the workspace. \nFinally\, the actuation and force measurement/estimation strategies of the three leading commercial legged robots are compared\, alongside other considerations for real-world fielded machines. This thesis seeks to show that legged robots (both academic and commercial) whose actuators are designed with careful consideration for proprioception can have similar performance to more conventional machines\, with better robustness and greatly reduced complexity.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-phd-thesis-defense-design-of-proprioceptive-legged-robots/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T130000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210520T134741Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210520T134741Z
UID:10006794-1626696000-1626699600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:PSOC Webinar: Geng-Yuan "Scott" Chen & Ze Gong
DESCRIPTION:Join Zoom Meeting: \nhttps://upenn.zoom.us/j/99334915941?pwd=eDRXV1lITDlySXFyRHUyUzdmRldoQT09 \nMeeting ID: 993 3491 5941 \nPasscode: 189247 \nPSOC@Penn Summer Webinars 2021 \nContact manu@seas.upenn.edu with any questions \nScott Chen 12:00-12:30 PM \nZe Gong 12:30-1:00 PM
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/psoc-webinar-geng-yuan-scott-chen-ze-gong/
LOCATION:https://upenn.zoom.us/j/96715197752
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Postdoctoral
ORGANIZER;CN="PSOC":MAILTO:manu@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T150000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210719T000744Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210719T000744Z
UID:10006835-1626699600-1626706800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MSE Thesis Defense: "Liquid Crystallinity in Responsive Soft Materials: Embedding Intelligence via Anisotropy"
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/mse-thesis-defense-liquid-crystallinity-in-responsive-soft-materials-embedding-intelligence-via-anisotropy/
LOCATION:PA
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210719T153000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210706T132536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210706T132536Z
UID:10006817-1626701400-1626708600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:BE Doctoral Dissertation: "Development and Evaluation of Next Generation Tomosynthesis" (Trevor Vent)
DESCRIPTION:The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Andrew Maidment are pleased to announce the Doctoral Dissertation Defense of Trevor Vent. \nTitle: “Development and Evaluation of Next Generation Tomosynthesis” \nThe public is welcome to attend. This event will be held both in person and on zoom. \nZoom link \nMeeting ID: 993 7019 2766 \nPasscode: 249310 \nPhysical location: \nClass of 1962 Auditorium \nJohn Morgan Building \nPerelman School of Medicine
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/be-doctoral-dissertation-development-and-evaluation-of-next-generation-tomosynthesis-trevor-vent/
LOCATION:Class of 62 Auditorium\, John Morgan Building\, 3620 Hamilton Walk\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Graduate,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Bioengineering":MAILTO:be@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210720T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210720T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210713T145501Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210713T145501Z
UID:10006834-1626777000-1626782400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "Rheological Behavior and Field Statistics of Suspensions of Rigid Particles in Yield Stress Fluids"
DESCRIPTION:Suspensions of non-Brownian particles in fluids are commonly found in nature (e.g. mud\, soils\, and debris flows) and in the industry (e.g. paints\, food\, and cosmetics). Understanding the relations between the microstructure and the effective properties of these materials can provide insight into how they fail or behave during processing. Despite their ubiquity and usefulness\, estimating the rheological properties of such suspensions\, particularly in the non-dilute regime\, remains a challenge. In this talk\, I will discuss homogenization techniques to model the rheological behavior of athermal suspensions of hard spheres in both Newtonian and non-Newtonian (viscoplastic) fluids. For the case of Newtonian suspensions\, we propose a generalization of the classical homogenization estimates of Ponte Castañeda and Willis (PCW) for the full viscosity tensor. The new estimates make use of an empirical interpolation parameter that is expected to depend on the particle properties (e.g. polydispersivity and size-ratios). Good agreement is found with experimental (rheology) data using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) spheres suspended in Glycerol\, a viscous fluid. For the case of non-Newtonian suspensions\, the generalized PCW estimates are used in combination with a variational linear comparison method to predict the effective nonlinear properties of viscoplastic suspensions. Good agreement is found with experimental data for suspensions of PMMA spheres in Carbopol\, a yield-stress fluid. The proposed new theory is found to improve the predictive capabilities of the classical PCW estimates at moderate particle volume fractions. A physical interpretation of the interpolation parameter is offered in terms of the phase averages and the fluctuations of the local fields. Finally\, the new estimates are used to generate fully-optimized\, second-order homogenization estimates for viscoplastic suspensions under pure and axisymmetric shear. Special attention is devoted to the method’s ability to capture the localized\, anisotropic deformation patterns that emerge under pure shear but are absent under axisymmetric shear.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-rheological-behavior-and-field-statistics-of-suspensions-of-rigid-particles-in-yield-stress-fluids/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210721T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210721T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210707T161341Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210707T161341Z
UID:10006827-1626863400-1626868800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM PhD Thesis Defense: "Lightweight Structures Enabled by Microfabrication"
DESCRIPTION:Lightweight structures are the product of the science of making systems as light as possible with constraints\, which often refer to being sufficiently strong and stiff. Although the development of lightweight structures was initially driven by the demands for better fuel and material economy\, the recent advancements in microfabrication have allowed the manufacture of structures with unprecedented properties. In this work\, three strategies of achieving lightweight structures are explored: (1) hollowing\, (2) folding\, and (3) lightweight composites. The first strategy is demonstrated by creating a hollow atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever. We made these hollow cantilevers by conformally depositing a thin layer of alumina on a solid beam and hollowing out the internal mold\, resulting in hollow shells with the same overall dimensions but with nanoscale wall thickness. Due to their significantly reduced weight\, these hollow cantilevers exhibited comparable resonant frequencies compared to their solid counterparts\, but significantly reduced quality factors and spring constants\, resulting in increased bandwidth and wear resistance. In the second strategy\, we made a self-deployable silicon-based propeller for microflyers with lightweight polymeric film. The propeller can be initially folded and then deployed by the centrifugal force from rotation. The propeller exhibited low weight yet payload capable thrust which is promising for application in micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs). Furthermore\, the fabrication techniques we developed allowed controllability on the folding directions which can be beneficial to origami-inspired devices. Lastly\, we developed thin composites in the form of millimeter-thick sandwich plates by combining carbon-fiber-based faces with perforated aluminum core. The sandwich constructions allowed improved stiffnesses and strengths without adding excessive mass compared to single-ply carbon-fiber sheets\, presenting viability as structural elements for small-scale robotics applications. In addition\, these plates can be manufactured to be folded and curved that allows more complex geometries.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-phd-thesis-defense-lightweight-structures-enabled-by-microfabrication/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210726T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210726T130000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210520T135334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210520T135334Z
UID:10006795-1627300800-1627304400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:PSOC Webinar: Indrajit Tah & David Li
DESCRIPTION:Join Zoom Meeting: \nhttps://upenn.zoom.us/j/99334915941?pwd=eDRXV1lITDlySXFyRHUyUzdmRldoQT09 \nMeeting ID: 993 3491 5941 \nPasscode: 189247 \nPSOC@Penn Summer Webinars 2021 \nContact manu@seas.upenn.edu with any questions \nIndrajit Tah 12:00-12:30 PM \nDavid Li 12:30-1:00 PM
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/psoc-webinar-indrajit-tah-david-li/
LOCATION:https://upenn.zoom.us/j/96715197752
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Postdoctoral
ORGANIZER;CN="PSOC":MAILTO:manu@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210727T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210727T120000
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210712T181144Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210712T181144Z
UID:10006832-1627381800-1627387200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "Some Investigations of Phase Transitions in Rod-like Macro-molecules and Fibrous Gels"
DESCRIPTION:Stress-induced solid-to-solid phase transitions form a large class of phase transitions in nature. They occur in materials that can exhibit different crystal structures under different conditions (stress and temperature)\, and when the stress and temperature condition changes\, the material may undergo a transformation from one phase to another. Despite its considerable potential in application\, some fundamental aspects about the basic physical mechanisms of stress-induced solid–solid phase transitions remain poorly understood. In this work we are particularly interested in phase transitions in macromolecules and fibrous gels. \nFirst\, we conduct Langevin dynamics calculations on a chain of masses and bistable springs in a viscous fluid and extract a temperature dependent kinetic relation by observing that the dissipation at a phase boundary can be estimated by performing an energy balance. Using this kinetic relation\, we solve boundary value problems for a bistable bar immersed in a constant temperature bath and show that the resultant force-extension relation matches very well with the Langevin dynamics results. We estimate the force fluctuations at the pulled end of the bar due to thermal kicks from the bath by using a partition function. We also show rate dependence of hysteresis in cyclic loading of the bar arising from the stick-slip kinetics. \nSecond\, we use a double-well stored energy function in a chemo-elastic model of gels to capture the existence of two phases of the network. We model cyclic compression/decompression experiments on fibrous gels and show that they exhibit propagating interfaces and hysteretic stress-strain curves that have been observed in experiments. We can capture features in the rate-dependent response of these fibrous gels without recourse to finite element calculations.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-some-investigations-of-phase-transitions-in-rod-like-macro-molecules-and-fibrous-gels/
LOCATION:Zoom – Email MEAM for Link\, peterlit@seas.upenn.edu
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210728T161500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210728T171500
DTSTAMP:20260406T165059
CREATED:20210723T184204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210723T184204Z
UID:10006837-1627488900-1627492500@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Climate & Diplomacy: How cities around the world collaborate on science-based climate solutions
DESCRIPTION:PIRE REACT Summer Student Program presents a talk for summer student researchers in STEM and their graduate student mentors; all are welcome. \n“Climate & Diplomacy: How cities around the world collaborate on science-based climate solutions.”  The speaker\, Ms. Lolita Jackson\, is a Penn Engineering alum and now with Sustainable Dev. Capital\, LLP (recent interview in a Scotland-based media forum: https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view\,making-change-happen-interview-with-lolita-jackson and PWH bio: https://global.upenn.edu/perryworldhouse/person/lolita-k-jackson).
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/climate-diplomacy-how-cities-around-the-world-collaborate-on-science-based-climate-solutions/
LOCATION:PA
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR