msepostdoc-list Fwd: SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT

[Donna Bystrom]

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Greetings, Professors!

On behalf of Prof. Karthik Ramani and the Mechanical Engineering Design 
Search Committee, I cordially invite you to a special seminar 
presentation by design candidate, Rebecca Kramer. I realize not much 
notice has been given, but it is our hope that as many as possible will 
be able to attend her presentation. Hope to see you all there!!

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*Mechanical Engineering Special Seminar*

/“Soft Active Materials for Sensing, Actuation and Electronics”/

*Presented by Design Area Candidate*

*Rebecca K. Kramer*

Ph.D. Candidate

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Harvard University

Harvard Microrobotics Lab

*Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012*

*9:30 am ME 2054*

**

*Abstract:*

Future generations of robots, electronics, and assistive medical devices 
will include systems that are soft, elastically deformable, and adapt 
their functionality in unstructured environments. This will require soft 
active materials for actuation, circuitry, and sensing of deformation 
and contact pressure. The emerging field of soft robotics utilizes these 
soft active materials to mimic the inherent compliance of natural 
soft-bodied systems (for example, the octopus). Soft-bodied robots need 
to maintain the functionality of traditional components, yet without any 
rigid elements. This talk will highlight preliminary designs that 
address the need for soft sensors and actuators, as well as new soft 
MEMS fabrication techniques for manufacturing stretchable circuits and 
devices based on liquid-embedded elastomers.

*Biography:*

Rebecca Kramer is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Engineering and 
Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Her research interests include 
biologically-inspired sensors and actuators, soft active materials, and 
assistive medical devices. Rebecca completed her M.S. in Mechanical 
Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and her B.S. in 
Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.