Projects

Oh snap! Ultrafast snapping recoil of elastic materials

Elastic biological materials like tendon play a vital role in animal locomotion, yet their complexity makes their mechanical characterization challenging. These materials often have a highly non…
2 sp. | 0 appl.
Time commitment
Fall - Part Time (+1)
Fall - Part TimeSpring - Part Time
Project categories
Physics (+2)
EngineeringPhysicsMaterials Science

Characterizing tendon material properties

In this project, students will build upon a Amelia Acker's ('26) senior thesis " Characterizing the Viscoelastic Behavior of the Bullfrog Plantaris Tendon ". The goal is to perform dynamic mechanical…
2 sp. | 0 appl.
Time commitment
Fall - Part Time (+1)
Fall - Part TimeSpring - Part Time
Project categories
Materials Science (+3)
PhysicsBiomechanicsMaterials ScienceSoft Matter Physics

Biomechanical modeling of extreme animal movements

Certain biological organisms use elastic energy to drive repeatable, ultra-fast motion. For example, some species of mantis shrimp can accelerate their hammer-like appendages 10,000 g's of…
2 sp. | 0 appl.
Time commitment
Fall - Part Time (+1)
Fall - Part TimeSpring - Part Time
Project categories
Physics (+2)
BiologyPhysicsBiomechanics

Mechanical (re)design of a high-rate recoil instrument

The Physics of Soft Matter Lab (posmlab) performs novel high-rate material characterization using a custom-built tensile tester. We use this instrument to stretch materials to a prescribed…
2 sp. | 0 appl.
Time commitment
Fall - Part Time (+1)
Fall - Part TimeSpring - Part Time
Project categories
Soft Matter Physics (+4)
EngineeringPhysicsMaterials ScienceMechanical EngineeringSoft Matter Physics