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The design of structural & functional materials for specialized applications is being fueled by rapid advancements in materials synthesis, characterization, manufacturing, with sophisticated computational materials modeling frameworks that…

Highly-deformable materials, from synthetic hydrogels to biological tissues, are becoming increasingly important from both fundamental and practical perspectives. Their mechanical behaviors, in particular the dynamics of crack propagation…

Memcomputing is a novel paradigm of computation that utilizes dynamical elements with memory to both store and process information on the same physical location. Its building blocks can be fabricated in hardware with standard electronic…

Robotic systems are increasingly used in rehabilitation to provide high intensity training for patients with motor impairment. The results of controlled trials involving human subjects confirm the effectiveness of robot-enhanced methods and…

Future robots will navigate perilous, remote environments with resilience and autonomy. Researchers have proposed building robots with compliant bodies to enhance robustness, but this approach often sacrifices the autonomous capabilities…

Evolution in time-varying environments naturally leads to adaptable biological systems that can easily switch functionalities. Advances in the synthesis of environmentally-responsive materials therefore open up the possibility of creating a…

Satellites and their instruments are subject to the motion stability throughout their lifetimes. The reliability of the large flexible space structures (LFSS) is particularly important for the motion stability of satellites and their…

Passive elastic elements can contribute to stability, energetic efficiency, and impact absorption in both biological and robotic systems. They also add dynamical complexity which makes them more challenging to model and control. The impact…

The design of intelligent materials often draws parallels with the complex adaptive behaviors of biological organisms, where robust functionality stems from sophisticated hierarchical organization and emergent long-distance coordination…

Natural hard composites like human bone possess a combination of strength and toughness that exceeds that of their constituents and of many engineered composites. This augmentation is attributed to their complex hierarchical structure,…

The design of physical compliance -- its location, degree, and structure -- affects robot performance and robustness in contact-rich tasks. While compliance is often used in the robot's joints, flange, or end-effector, this paper proposes…

The periodontal biomechanical environment is very difficult to investigate. By the complex geometry and composition of the periodontal ligament, its mechanical behavior is very dependent on the type of loading (compressive vs. tensile…

We consider an immersed elastic body that is actively driven through a structured fluid by a motor or an external force. The behavior of such a system generally cannot be solved analytically, necessitating the use of numerical methods.…

The ideal strength is crucial for predicting material behavior under extreme conditions, which can provide insights into material limits, guide design and engineer for enhanced performance and durability. In this work, we present a method…

Design of robotic systems that safely and efficiently operate in uncertain operational conditions, such as rehabilitation and physical assistance robots, remains an important challenge in the field. Current methods for the design of energy…

What determines whether an organism or collective will survive under particular conditions? This question is asked across the life sciences when determining adaptive fit, developing efficacious treatments for diseases, and assessing the…

Designing anisotropic structured materials by reducing symmetry results in unique behaviors, such as shearing under uniaxial compression or tension. This direction-dependent coupled mechanical phenomenon is crucial for applications such as…

The consensus that complexity begets stability in ecosystems was challenged in the seventies, a result recently extended to ecologically-inspired networks. The approaches assume the existence of a feasible equilibrium, i.e. with positive…

As robots move from the laboratory into the real world, motion planning will need to account for model uncertainty and risk. For robot motions involving intermittent contact, planning for uncertainty in contact is especially important, as…

Applying constant tensile stress to a piece of amorphous solid results in a slow extension, followed by an eventual rapid mechanical collapse. This "creep" process is of paramount engineering concern, and as such was the subject of study in…