Jonathan Hopkins, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, recently won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Leonardo Da Vinci Award for his foundational work in inventing mechanical neural networks.
The award, given by ASME’s Design Engineering Division, honors the invention or design of a product with universally recognized impact in the field of machine design. It was presented to Hopkins at the 2025 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, held in August in Anaheim.
Hopkins is the first UCLA Samueli professor to receive the award, which has been presented annually since 1978. Recognized for his work in establishing mechanical neural networks, his research launched a new field of artificial-intelligent metamaterials, which can physically learn behaviors.
Hopkins runs the Flexible Research Group, where he leads research projects into the design and fabrication of advanced flexible structures, mechanisms, and materials. Specifically, the group seeks to take advantage of the extraordinary capabilities demonstrated when the material’s constituent complaint elements are deformed. They have a particular focus on architected materials, additive fabrication, microelectrical systems and soft robotics for medical devices.
An ASME fellow since 2021, Hopkins’ honors include UCLA Samueli’s V.M. Watanabe Excellence in Research Award in 2018 and ASME’s Theoretical Contributions in Complaint Mechanisms Award in 2017. In 2016, Hopkins won a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the country’s highest honor for young researchers, through a nomination from the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Hopkins has also been recognized for his work in education. In 2021, he launched his Youtube channel on compliant mechanisms, with lectures and other teaching materials freely available to the public. The channel, The FACTs of Mechanical Design, has over 3 million views with more than 100 available videos.
More recently, Hopkins made news for the development of an alternating-pressure mattress, which significantly reduces the risk of bedsores by changing which parts of the body are weighed down at a time.