Jose Rivas-Padilla received his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He is a PhD student in the School of Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Andres Arrieta in the PSL group. His research focuses on the modeling, optimization, and experimentation of multi-stable elements, and how to integrate them into morphing aircraft structures to maximize aeroelastic performance at multiple operating conditions. His favorite hobbies include playing “el cuatro” (a typical Puerto Rican instrument), dancing, playing basketball and traveling abroad.

Research

• Modeling and optimization of a selectively stiff multi-stable wing morphing system 
• Establishing topology optimization requirements for the design of multi-stable structures

Publications

• D.M. Boston, A.F. Arrieta, J.R. Rivas-Padilla, Monolithic morphing rib with selective stiffness from embeddable bi-stable element, ASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, 2018
• J.R. Rivas-Padilla, D.M. Boston, A.F. Arrieta, Design of selectively compliant morphing structures with shape-induced bi-stable elements, AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, 2019
• J.R. Rivas-Padilla, D.M. Boston, A.F. Arrieta, On-Demand Stiffening of Deflected Morphing Section via Internal Bistable Element, AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, 2020