Penn Engineering’s GRASP Lab Helps Lead $5M Effort to Accelerate Robotics Research

Mark Yim, Asa Whitney Professor of Mechanical Engineering in MEAM, will help lead a $5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) effort to accelerate human-robotic-interface by designing a humanoid robot to distribute to the scientific community. In collaboration with investigators at Oregon State University (OSU) and Semio, the goal for the program is to drive discovery and learning in computing and communication foundations, computer and network systems, and information and intelligent systems.

Penn Engineering’s primary contribution to the project will be the design of the new robot, Quori Version 2, while OSU will lead the forming of the human-robot-interaction research community. READ MORE

The Brooke Owens Fellowship: Empowering Women in Aerospace

Ananya Malhotra, a junior studying Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics has been awarded a Brooke Owens Fellowship! This fellowship recognizes young women and other gender minorities with a passion for aerospace and aims to provide them with career opportunities and guidance from successful women in the industry.

In her interview, Ananya shared her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut and her love for robotics, math, and physics. She expressed her excitement for the chance to work at Blue Origin, one of the most innovative companies in the aerospace industry, and to gain hands-on experience alongside some of the brightest minds in the field. READ MORE

2023 John A. Goff Prize Awarded to Konstantinos Garyfallogiannis

Congratulations Konstantinos Garyfallogiannis, the 2023 recipient of the John A. Goff Prize.

Garyfallogiannis (second from the left) has been working on solid mechanics, particularly network materials including hydrogels and blood clots and is co-advised by John Bassani and Prashant Purohit.

“He’s done a great job of looking into the analysis of [hydrogel] problems with cracks, and doing finite analyses and large deprivation analyses. It’s a terrific thesis that is under way and it’s been great to work with [him],” said Bassani.

This prize is awarded annually to a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics who has been selected by the faculty on the basis of criteria of scholarship, resourcefulness, and leadership.