2008-2009 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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straints, and the teamwork needed to
design, market, and produce a system.
These skills also prove to be valuable in
other endeavors and can launch a career
in medicine, law, consulting, management,
banking, finance, and so on.
For those interested in applied scientific
and mathematical aspects of the
discipline, graduate study in mechanical
engineering can lead to a career of
research and teaching.
Current Research Activities
Current research activities in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering
are in the areas of controls and robotics,
energy and micropower generation, fluid
mechanics, heat/mass transfer, mechanics
of materials, manufacturing, material
processing, MEMS, nanotechnology,
and orthopedic biomechanics.
Biomechanics and Mechanics of
Materials. Some of the current research
in biomechanics is concerned with the
application of continuum theories of
mixtures to problems of electromechanical
behavior of soft biological tissues,
contact mechanics, lubrication of
diarthrodial joints, and cartilage tissue
engineering. (Ateshian)
In the area of the mechanics of
materials, research is performed to better
understand material constitutive
behavior at the micro- and mesolength
scales. This work is experimental, theoretical,
and computational in nature. The
ultimate goal is to formulate constitutive
relationships that are based on physical
concepts rather than phenomenology,
as in the case of plasticity power-law
hardening. In addition, the role that the
constitutive relations play in the fracture
and failure of materials is emphasized.
(Kysar)
Control, Design, and Manufacturing.
Control research emphasizes iterative
learning control (ILC) and repetitive control
(RC). ILC creates controllers that
learn from previous experience performing
a specific command, such as robots
on an assembly line, aiming for highprecision
mechanical motions. RC
learns to cancel repetitive disturbances,
such as precision motion through gearing,
machining, satellite precision pointing,
particle accelerators, etc. Time optimal
control of robots is being studied for
increased productivity on assembly
lines through dynamic motion planning.
Research is also being conducted on
improved system identification, making
mathematical models from input-output
data. The results can be the starting
point for designing controllers, but they
are also studied as a means of assessing
damage in civil engineering structures
from earthquake data. (Longman)
Robotics and mechanism synthesis
research focuses on the analysis of kinematic
relationship, optimization, and
design of linkages and spatial mechanisms,
and the development of novel
robotic mechanical architectures. These
new robotic architectures include parallel
robots, hybrid robots, snakelike robots,
and flexible and flexure-based robots.
The theoretical aspects of this research
include applications of line geometry
tools and screw theory for analysis and
synthesis of robotic devices, applications
of actuation redundancy and kinematic
redundancy for stiffness control, and
applications of algebraic geometry methods
for robot synthesis. The applied
aspects of this research include taskbased
design and construction of new
devices/robots for robotic medical assistance
in the surgical arena. (Simaan)
In the area of advanced manufacturing
processes and systems, current
research concentrates on laser materials
processing. Investigations are being carried
out in laser micromachining; laser
forming of sheet metal; microscale laser
shock-peening, material processing
using improved laser-beam quality. Both
numerical and experimental work is conducted
using state-of-the-art equipment,
instruments, and computing facilities.
Close ties with industry have been
established for collaborative efforts. (Yao)
Energy, Fluid Mechanics, and
Heat/Mass Transfer. In the area of
energy, one effort addresses the design
of flow/mass transport systems for the
extraction of carbon dioxide from air.
Another effort addresses the development
of distributed sensors for use in
micrositing and performance evaluation
of energy and environmental systems.
The design and testing of components
and systems for micropower generation
is part of the thermofluids effort as well
as part of the MEMS effort. (Modi)
In the area of fluid mechanics, study
of low-Reynolds-number chaotic flows
is being conducted both experimentally
and numerically, and the interactions
with molecular diffusion and inertia are
presently being investigated. Other
SEAS 2008–2009