Faculty Research

Design, Robotics, and Manufacturing

Greg Carman, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor
310-825-6030
carman@seas.ucla.edu

Nanoscale multiferroic materials, piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials, thin film shape memory alloys, fiber optic sensors.

Tyler ClitesTyler Clites, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
clites@ucla.edu

Bionic systems to rehabilitate and augment human function; neural interfacing and control; advancements in orthopaedic and plastic surgery.

Anushri DixitAnushri Dixit, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(starting July 2024)

Autonomy, robotics, safety-critical decision-making, stochastic control, model predictive control, and risk-aware planning.

Elisa Franco, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
310-206-4317
efranco@seas.ucla.edu

Convergence of structural biology, dynamics and controls using specialized biomolecular frameworks.

Rajit Gadh, Ph.D.

Professor
310-267-4892
rgadh@seas.ucla.edu

Smart Grid, Electric Vehicle and Grid Integration, Microgrid, Distributed Energy Resource, Solar- and renewable- grid integration, Demand Response, Autonomous Electric Vehicle, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless sensors and sensor fusion, Internet of Things, CAD/VR.

Dennis Hong, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-9471
dennishong@ucla.edu

Humanoids & Bipedal Robots, Robot Locomotion & Manipulation, Soft Actuators, Robotic Platforms, Autonomous Vehicles, Machine Design, Kinematics & Mechanisms.

Jonathan B. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Professor
hopkins@seas.ucla.edu

Design, analysis, and fabrication of sophisticated flexible structures that possess extraordinary capabilities.

M. Khalid Jawed, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-206-5453
khalidjm@seas.ucla.edu

Data-driven approach to modeling the mechanics of structures and fluid-structure interaction using robotics, automation, computation, and machine learning.

Xiaochun Li, Ph.D.

Raytheon Endowed Professor in Manufacturing Engineering
310-825-2383
xcli@seas.ucla.edu

Scifacturing (science-driven manufacturing), Super Metals by Nanoparticles Self-Dispersion, Scalable Nanomanufacturing, Smart Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing.

Jacob Rosen, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-0174
rosen@seas.ucla.edu

Biorobotics; Human centered robotics, medical robotics (surgery and rehabilitation), wearable robotics (exoskeleton), teleoperation, haptics and virtual reality, biomechanics, neuromuscular control, and human-machine interfaces.

Veronica Santos, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-2125
vjsantos@ucla.edu

Human-machine systems, robotics, prosthetics, tactile sensors, haptics, hand biomechanics, neural control of movement, stochastic modeling, and clinical applications of biomechanical modeling.

Tsu-Chin Tsao, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-2819
ttsao@seas.ucla.edu

Modeling and control of dynamic systems with applications in mechanical systems, manufacturing processes, automotive systems, and energy systems, digital control; repetitive and learning control, adaptive and optimal control, mechatronics.

Fluid Mechanics

Artur Davoyan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-825-7660
davoyan@seas.ucla.edu

Advanced materials and systems for applications in space, energy and communications. Advanced and breakthrough propulsion. High power and high energy lasers, laser materials interaction. Nanoscale and two-dimensional materials, metamaterials, plasmonics, metasurfaces. Optoelectronics and photonic devices.

Jeff Eldredge, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-5094
eldredge@seas.ucla.edu

Computational and theoretical investigations of fluid dynamics, including unsteady aerodynamics, bio-inspired locomotion, fluid-structure interactions, and biomedical flows.

Ann Karagozian, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor
310-825-5653
ark@seas.ucla.edu

Fluid mechanics and combustion, with applications to improved engine efficiency, reduced emissions, alternative fuels, and advanced high speed air breathing and rocket propulsion systems.

Pirouz Kavehpour, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-6494
pirouz@seas.ucla.edu

Microfluidics and biofluidics, biofuel cells, cardiovascular flow, complex fluids, interfacial physics, micro-tribology, non-isothermal flows, drug delivery systems, and artificial organs.

Mitchell Spearrin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-825-1805
spearrin@ucla.edu

Spectroscopy and gas dynamics; advanced optical sensors, including laser absorption and fluorescence, with experimental application to propulsion, energy systems, and other reacting flow fields.

Kunihiko Taira, Ph.D.

Associate Professor 310-825-7660 ktaira@seas.ucla.edu

Analysis, modeling, and control of fluid flows using high-performance computing by combining concepts from fluid mechanics, dynamical systems theory, network science, and data science.

Xiaolin Zhong, Ph.D.

Department Chair
Professor

310-825-2905
xiaolin@seas.ucla.edu

Computational fluid dynamics; hypersonic flows, development of new very high-order numerical methods; numerical simulation of hypersonic boundary layer receptivity, stability, and transition; numerical simulation of real-gas hypersonic flow; development of high-order immersed interface method for flow simulations; DNS of strong shock interaction with turbulence; numerical simulation studies of wave energy harvesting devices.

Micro-Nano Engineering

Greg Carman, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor
310-825-6030
carman@seas.ucla.edu

Nanoscale multiferroic materials, piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials, thin film shape memory alloys, fiber optic sensors.

Yong Chen, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-2453
yongchen@seas.ucla.edu

Nanofabrication. Nanoscale electronic materials and devices. Micro-Nano electronic/optical/bio/mechanical systems. Ultra-scale spatial and temporal characterization.

Pei-Yu Chiou, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-8620
pychiou@seas.ucla.edu

Biophotonics, nanophotonics, BioMEMS/NEMS, electrokinetics, microfluidics and biofluidics, guided self-assembly, high throughput single cell analysis.

Artur Davoyan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-825-7660
davoyan@seas.ucla.edu

Advanced materials and systems for applications in space, energy and communications. Advanced and breakthrough propulsion. High power and high energy lasers, laser materials interaction. Nanoscale and two-dimensional materials, metamaterials, plasmonics, metasurfaces. Optoelectronics and photonic devices.

Tim Fisher, Ph.D.

John P. and Claudia H. Schauerman Endowed Chair in Engineering
Professor

310-206-8113
tsfisher@ucla.edu

Transport processes by electrons, phonons, photons, and fluids; applications in energy transport, conversion, and storage relevant to major industrial segments (aerospace, micro/nanoelectronics, sensors).

Vijay Gupta, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-0223
vgupta@seas.ucla.edu

Experimental mechanics, fracture of engineering solids, mechanics of thin films and interfaces, failure mechanisms and characterization of composite materials, ice mechanics, use of high frequency laser-generated acoustic pulses for dissociation of intercellular and cell-to-Ti bonds for the treatment of arrhythmias and development of efficient titanium implants.

Yongjie Hu, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-3583
yhu@seas.ucla.edu

Heat transfer and electron transport in nanostructures, interfaces & packaging. Thermal, electronic, optoelectronic, thermoelectric devices and systems. Energy conversion, storage and thermal management. Ultrafast optical spectroscopy and high-frequency electronics. Nanomaterials design, processing and manufacturing.

Lihua Jin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-206-5115
lihuajin@seas.ucla.edu

Mechanics of soft materials: instability, fracture, and stimuli-responsive materials. Continuum mechanics and applications in technologies: additive manufacturing, soft robotics, and stretchable electronics. Nanomechanics and multiscale modeling. Biomechanics.

Y. Sungtaek Ju, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-0985
sungtaek.ju@ucla.edu

Micro- and nanoscale thermosciencs, energy, bioMEMS/NEMS, nanofabrication.

Pirouz Kavehpour, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-6494
pirouz@seas.ucla.edu

Microfluidics and biofluidics, biofuel cells, cardiovascular flow, complex fluids, interfacial physics, micro-tribology, non-isothermal flows, drug delivery systems, and artificial organs.

Chang-Jin Kim, Ph.D.

Professor
Volgenau Chair in Engineering

310-825-0267
cjkim@ucla.edu

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), surface-tension-based microactuation, nanotechnology for surface control, microdevices including microfluidic applications, full spectrum of micromachining technologies.

Xiaochun Li, Ph.D.

Raytheon Endowed Professor in Manufacturing Engineering
310-825-2383
xcli@seas.ucla.edu

Scifacturing (science-driven manufacturing), Super Metals by Nanoparticles Self-Dispersion, Scalable Nanomanufacturing, Smart Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing.

Neil LinNeil Lin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
neillin@g.ucla.edu

Developing 3D-printed tissues that mimic the geometric structure, mechanical properties, and functionality of human organs. Detailed and complex model tissues for drug screening. Artificial organs that could be transplanted into humans.

Laurent Pilon, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-5598
pilon@seas.ucla.edu

Radiation transfer, applied optics, interfacial and transport phenomena, nanostructured materials for energy applications such as pyroelectric energy conversion, energy storage systems, photosynthetic production of biofuels.

Structural and Solid Mechanics

Greg Carman, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor
310-825-6030
carman@seas.ucla.edu

Nanoscale multiferroic materials, piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials, thin film shape memory alloys, fiber optic sensors.

Artur Davoyan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-825-7660
davoyan@seas.ucla.edu

Advanced materials and systems for applications in space, energy and communications. Advanced and breakthrough propulsion. High power and high energy lasers, laser materials interaction. Nanoscale and two-dimensional materials, metamaterials, plasmonics, metasurfaces. Optoelectronics and photonic devices.

Vijay Gupta, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-0223
vgupta@seas.ucla.edu

Experimental mechanics, fracture of engineering solids, mechanics of thin films and interfaces, failure mechanisms and characterization of composite materials, ice mechanics, use of high frequency laser-generated acoustic pulses for dissociation of intercellular and cell-to-Ti bonds for the treatment of arrhythmias and development of efficient titanium implants.

Jonathan B. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Professor
hopkins@seas.ucla.edu

Design, analysis, and fabrication of sophisticated flexible structures that possess extraordinary capabilities.

M. Khalid Jawed, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-206-5453
khalidjm@seas.ucla.edu

Data-driven approach to modeling the mechanics of structures and fluid-structure interaction using robotics, automation, computation, and machine learning.

Lihua Jin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-206-5115
lihuajin@seas.ucla.edu

Mechanics of soft materials: instability, fracture, and stimuli-responsive materials. Continuum mechanics and applications in technologies: additive manufacturing, soft robotics, and stretchable electronics. Nanomechanics and multiscale modeling. Biomechanics.

Systems and Control

Anushri DixitAnushri Dixit, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(starting July 2024)

Autonomy, robotics, safety-critical decision-making, stochastic control, model predictive control, and risk-aware planning.

Elisa Franco, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
310-206-4317
efranco@seas.ucla.edu

Convergence of structural biology, dynamics and controls using specialized biomolecular frameworks.

Jonathan B. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Professor
hopkins@seas.ucla.edu

Design, analysis, and fabrication of sophisticated flexible structures that possess extraordinary capabilities.

Tetsuya Iwasaki, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-2533
iwasaki@seas.ucla.edu

Neuronal control mechanism of animal locomotion, nonlinear oscillators, and robust/nonlinear control theory and its applications to mechanical, aerospace, and electrical systems.

Robert M’Closkey, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-2909
rtm@seas.ucla.edu

Nonlinear control theory and design with application to mechanical and aerospace systems, real-time implementation.

Jacob Rosen, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-0174
rosen@seas.ucla.edu

Biorobotics; Human centered robotics, medical robotics (surgery and rehabilitation), wearable robotics (exoskeleton), teleoperation, haptics and virtual reality, biomechanics, neuromuscular control, and human-machine interfaces.

Veronica Santos, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-2125
vjsantos@ucla.edu

Human-machine systems, robotics, prosthetics, tactile sensors, haptics, hand biomechanics, neural control of movement, stochastic modeling, and clinical applications of biomechanical modeling.

Jason L. Speyer, Ph.D.

Ronald and Valerie Sugar Endowed Professor of Engineering
Distinguished Professor

310-206-4451
speyer@seas.ucla.edu

Stochastic and deterministic optimal control and estimation with application to aerospace systems; guidance, flight control, and flight mechanics.

Tsu-Chin Tsao, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-2819
ttsao@seas.ucla.edu

Modeling and control of dynamic systems with applications in mechanical systems, manufacturing processes, automotive systems, and energy systems, digital control; repetitive and learning control, adaptive and optimal control, mechatronics.

Thermal Science and Engineering

Vijay Dhir, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor
310-825-8507
vdhir@seas.ucla.edu

Two-phase heat transfer, boiling and condensation, thermal and hydrodynamic stability, thermal hydraulics of nuclear reactors, microgravity heat transfer, soil remediation.

Tim Fisher, Ph.D.

John P. and Claudia H. Schauerman Endowed Chair in Engineering
Professor

310-206-8113
tsfisher@ucla.edu

Transport processes by electrons, phonons, photons, and fluids; applications in energy transport, conversion, and storage relevant to major industrial segments (aerospace, micro/nanoelectronics, sensors).

Yongjie Hu, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-3583
yhu@seas.ucla.edu

Heat transfer and electron transport in nanostructures, interfaces & packaging. Thermal, electronic, optoelectronic, thermoelectric devices and systems. Energy conversion, storage and thermal management. Ultrafast optical spectroscopy and high-frequency electronics. Nanomaterials design, processing and manufacturing.

Y. Sungtaek Ju, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-0985
sungtaek.ju@ucla.edu

Micro- and nanoscale thermosciencs, energy, bioMEMS/NEMS, nanofabrication.

Pirouz Kavehpour, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-6494
pirouz@seas.ucla.edu

Microfluidics and biofluidics, biofuel cells, cardiovascular flow, complex fluids, interfacial physics, micro-tribology, non-isothermal flows, drug delivery systems, and artificial organs.

Adrienne Lavine, Ph.D.

Professor
310-825-7468
lavine@seas.ucla.edu

Solar thermal energy storage, thermal energy harvesting, thermal control of nanoscale manufacturing, thermomechanical behavior of shape memory alloys, thermal aspects of manufacturing processes including machining and plasma thermal spray.

Laurent Pilon, Ph.D.

Professor
310-206-5598
pilon@seas.ucla.edu

Radiation transfer, applied optics, interfacial and transport phenomena, nanostructured materials for energy applications such as pyroelectric energy conversion, energy storage systems, photosynthetic production of biofuels.

Mitchell Spearrin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
310-825-1805
spearrin@ucla.edu

Spectroscopy and gas dynamics; advanced optical sensors, including laser absorption and fluorescence, with experimental application to propulsion, energy systems, and other reacting flow fields.