About the MechE Alliance Seminar Series

The MechE Alliance Seminar Series is a platform for connecting members of the MechE community, including current students, post-docs and faculty at MIT MechE, our alumni, industry and other external partners. Research thrives on sharing ideas and discoveries. Through these seminars, we support the free-flow of ideas and the networks of researchers that make up the global MechE community.

Seminars will rotate between talks from MIT MechE Faculty, Students and Postdocs, and our alumni and other partners. Topic are as varied as our research with focus areas being in mechanics, controls, instrumentation, & robotics, ocean science & engineering, micro & nano engineering, design & manufacturing, energy science & engineering, and bioengineering.

View recordings of past seminars as well as other videos from around MIT MechE at our MechE Alliance YouTube Channel.

Sponsored by MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering

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Next MechE Alliance Seminar

Muscle-Like Actuators and Their Implications for Real-World Applications

Wednesday March 10, 2021
12:00-12:45pm US EST
Zoom Webinar Link:
https://mit.zoom.us/j/98774144529

Abstract

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Artificial Muscle is an exciting emerging field that possesses immense potential for disruptive innovations in lightweight, cheap, and safe robots (from the nanoscale to macroscale) for healthcare, human-robot interactions, environmental and ecological stewardship, and well beyond. The designs and materials used for artificial muscles often exhibit a unique combination of properties that enable them to be used for other purposes such as energy storage, drug delivery systems, and biomedical devices. In this presentation, first, I will discuss my research works on high-performance artificial muscle technologies. Then I will present two approaches in making the actuation of high performance soft robots untethered.

Speaker

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About Professor George Barbastathis

Seyed Mo Mirvakili received his BASc degree (honors) in electrical engineering with a minor in nanotechnology and microsystems from UBC. He joined Molecular Mechatronics Lab in the electrical engineering department at UBC for his MASc degree, where he completed his degree. Then he started his PhD in the BioInstrumentation lab in the mechanical engineering department at MIT. For his postdoctoral training, he joined the Langer Lab at MIT. He has initiated and worked on various projects on artificial muscles, energy storage/harvesting devices, biomedical devices, and analog circuit design for the past decade. Seyed has published in more than 15 journals and conference papers, including Science, Science Robotics, Nanoletters, and Advanced Materials. He has received a number of prestigious awards, scholarships, and fellowships, including NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Fellowship, MIT deFlorez Innovation Award, and Leadership Award in Engineering. He is the founder of Seron Electronics and the lead inventor on 8 patent applications.

Upcoming MechE Alliance Seminars

  • Health of the Planet Research – MathWorks Seed Fund Projects
    MechE Profs. Evelyn Wang, Sili Deng, Faez Ahmed, Mathias Kolle, Betar Gallan
    Wednesday, March 17, 2021
    12-12:45pm US EDT
    Zoom Webinar Link:
    https://mit.zoom.us/j/94518811458
  • TBD
    Professor Richard Wiesman, MIT MechE
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021
    12-12:45pm US EDT
    Zoom Webinar Link:
    https://mit.zoom.us/j/97122453135
  • Moving Beyond Li-ion Batteries in Electric Transportation
    Professor Betar Gallant
    Wednesday, April 28, 2021
    12-12:45pm US EST
    Zoom Webinar Link:
    https://mit.zoom.us/j/91221125659
  • Instabilities and Flow-Induced Defects in Liquid Crystals.
    Professor Irmgard Bischofberger
    Wednesday, May 12, 2021
    12-12:45pm US EST
    Zoom Webinar Link:
    https://mit.zoom.us/j/91221125659

    • Past MechE Alliance Seminars

    Contact Us

    For questions, please email me-alliance@mit.edu.

    MechE students, postdocs, faculty, and alumni are encouraged to reach out if you would like to present as part of this series.