Quests (Projects)

Structure-Property Characterization of Biological Composites

I characterize how morphology governs mechanical performance in collagen- and keratin-based tissues, using SEM, TEM, microCT, and nanoindentation to extract structure-property relationships that inform engineered composite design — targeting the stiffness-porosity-geometry trade-offs conventional materials can't escape.

Bio-Inspired Meta-Structures for Robotics

I translate micro-to-macro structural principles from biological tissue into robotic hardware and control strategies, closing the design gap between soft, compliant systems and rigid, load-bearing ones.

Biomechanically-Informed Haptic Design

I design passive and active healthcare devices by translating how skin, muscle, and tendon structures sense and adapt across species — including how animals resist age-related material decay — into engineered sensing and haptic systems.

Interdisciplinary Systems for Engineering Research

Long-term interdisciplinary collaboration is an engineering problem in its own right. I build and study the structures — data-sharing agreements, joint research pipelines, institutional partnerships — that let engineering, biology, and conservation teams sustain multi-year research programs together.

Sustainable Design in Robotics and Materials Engineering

I integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals into bio-inspired materials and robotics research and engineering curricula, training students to build open-source, sustainable hardware solutions from first principles.

Engineering for Accessible Devices

I design tactile and sensory interfaces — including open-source, 3D-printable tactile graphics — that make scientific and everyday information accessible to blind and low-vision users, translating principles from bio-inspired sensing into assistive device engineering.