images/profile/punpongsanon

Email:
nisser _at_ uw _dot_ edu

Lab website:
https://www.programmablematterlab.com

Martin Nisser

Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

I lead the newly launched Programmable Matter Lab at the University of Washington, where we work on computational design and fabrication, broadly defined. If you're a student or postdoc interested in generative design, robotics, digital fabrication, HCI, or in-space manufacturing and assembly, get in touch!

Short bio:
I completed my PhD in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory with Professor Stefanie Mueller. Previously, I completed masters and undergraduate degrees at MIT, ETH Zurich, and The University of Edinburgh, and held intern or staff appointments at the Boston Dynamics A.I. Institute, Tesla Motors, Harvard University and the European Space Agency. I am a Sweden-America fellow, a Bernard Gold fellow, and have appeared in media including BBC News, The NBC Daily Show, The Washington Post, NASA TV, Forbes and Popular Science.

Research Interests:
I'm interested in developing fabrication methods to make hardware that is inexpensive, rapid, and customizable to individual needs and interests. In applications spanning in-space manufacturing to personal fabrication, constraints on transport volume, delivery time and product diversity challenge centralized manufacturing in particular ways that reflect the economics of mass manufacturing in general. While the remoteness, scale and uniqueness of these applications often impede centralized manufacturing and distribution, powerful theoretical methods exist to provably assemble arbitrary 3D geometries in situ from 1D strings, 2D sheets and 3D modules through continuous motion without self-intersection. However, key challenges remain in how to embody these potentially decentralized assembly methods in physical materials and machines, and to develop computational tools that permit their automated manufacturing while retaining geometric expressivity of finished parts. To this end, I develop new machines, modular assembly platforms, and programmable materials that can be programmed to automate digital fabrication and assembly procedures in situ. As part of my work on in-space manufacturing, I have led 5 parabolic flight campaigns and was the Science Lead for MIT's Extrusion Project, a fabrication platform launched to the ISS in November 2022.

Outreach:
I'm excited about developing education and research programs toward increasing the opportunity to work with technology. I co-launched and co-instruct Brave Behind Bars, a non-profit delivering university-accredited computer science and self-efficacy programs for incarcerated women and men.

Updates
07-16-2024:
Started faculty position at UW
01-18-2024:
Papers accepted to ACM CHI and ACM TEI '24
08-22-2023:
Interviewed on NBC Daily Show and MSNBC
05-26-2023:
Interning at Boston Dynamics AI Institute
01-06-2023:
ISS project featured in Washington Post
01-03-2023:
Interview in Popular Science
11-10-2022:
Interview on NASA TV
11-10-2022:
Interviewed for SpaceX's CRS-26 Media Teleconference
09-13-2022:
Brave Behind Bars featured in The Washington Post
06-30-2022:
Self-assembly paper accepted to IEEE IROS '22
06-27-2022:
Progammable interfaces paper accepted to ACM UIST '22
06-20-2022:
Swarm robot paper accepted to IEEE ANTS '22
03-23-2022:
Panelist for MIT Hack for Inclusion
03-02-2022:
ElectroVoxel featured in Popular Science, Forbes, MIT News
02-11-2022:
Co-organizing a CHI '22 workshop, SpaceCHI
02-07-2022:
ElectroVoxel accepted to ICRA '22.
08-20-2021:
Profile in MIT News
05-28-2021:
Completed a Parabolic Flight Campaign.

Research


My research is published primarily in flagship robotics (e.g. IEEE IROS, ICRA) and HCI (e.g. ACM UIST, CHI) venues, where fabrication communities engage actively in manufacturing and assembly paradigms like self-assembly, self-folding, and 3D printing. With actuation a central challenge to self-assembly, I often leverage the favorable dynamics of microgravity environments to incubate technologies, explore near-term in-space manufacturing applications, and to build geometries that remain difficult or intractable to make here on earth. In parallel to my main research, I also study how educational programming in correctional facilities, where I teach, can improve post-release outocmes for incarcerated people.

TEI23
FabRobotics: Fusing 3D Printing with Mobile Robots to Advance Fabrication, Robotics, and Interaction
Publication Venue: ACM TEI (2024) pdf doi youtube
Advisors: Ken Nakagaki, University of Chicago and Stefanie Mueller, MIT.

Fabrobotics is a digital fabrication pipeline that combines FDM 3D printing with mobile robots. Using a hybrid turn-taking control scheme between a 3D printer and mobile robots, our proof-of-concept pipeline supports autonomously 3D printing objects with support from mobile robots by embedding robot commands directly into Gcode. We detail our control scheme and use our proof-of-concept pipeline to explore emergent applications for how 3D printing and mobile robots can mutually advance each other's fabrication and interaction capabilities.


TEI23
From Prisons to Programming: Fostering Self-Efficacy via Virtual Web Design Curricula in Prisons and Jails
Publication Venue: ACM CHI (2024) pdf doi youtube
Advisor: Joshua Long, UMass Lowell.

Self-efficacy and digital literacy are key predictors to incarcerated people's success in the modern workplace, and yet few templates exist for how to design and organize computing curricula in carceral environments. As a result, formerly incarcerated people face increasing social and professional exclusion post-release. We report on a 12-week college-accredited web design class called Brave Behind Bars, taught virtually and synchronously, across 5 correctional facilities across the United States. We conducted surveys with participating students, using dichotomous and open-ended questions, and performed thematic and quantitative analyses of their responses that suggest students' increased self-efficacy. Our study discusses key design choices, needs, and recommendations for furthering computing curricula that foster self-efficacy and digital literacy in carceral settings.


TEI23
PullupStructs: Digital Fabrication for Folding Structures via Pull-up Nets
Publication Venue: ACM TEI (2023) pdf youtube
Advisor: Stefanie Mueller, MIT.

This project proposes a method to rapidly create 3D geometries by folding 2D sheets via pull-up nets. Given a 3D structure, we unfold its mesh into a planar 2D sheet using heuristic algorithms and populate these with cutlines and throughholes. We develop a web-based simulation tool that translates users' 3D meshes into manufacturable 2D sheets. After laser-cutting the sheet and feeding thread through these throughholes to form a pull-up net, pulling the thread will fold the sheet into the 3D structure using a single degree of freedom. We introduce the fabrication process and build a variety of prototypes demonstrating the method’s ability to rapidly create a breadth of geometries suitable for low-fidelity prototyping that are both load-bearing and aesthetic across a range of scales.


ANTS22
An Approach Based on Particle Swarm Optimization for Inspection of Spacecraft Hulls by a Swarm of Miniaturized Robots
Publication Venue: ANTS (2022) pdf doi
Advisor: Radhika Nagpal, Princeton University.

This project proposes the use of a swarm of miniaturized, vibration-sensing robots as a mobile sensor network. We utilize distributed inspection algorithms based on bio-inspired particle swarm optimization and evolutionary algorithm niching techniques to enumerate and localize a priori unknown vibration sources on the 2.5D hull of a spacecraft surface. We deploy the algorithms in simulation and on a fleet of cm-scale wheeled robots, finally demonstrating their operation in microgravity aboard a parabolic flight.


UIST22
Mixels: Fabricating Interfaces using Programmable Magnetic Pixels
Publication Venue: ACM UIST (2022) pdf doi youtube
Advisors: Stefanie Mueller, MIT and Ryo Suzuki, University of Calgary.

This project introduces a fabrication platform for programmable magnetic pixels that can be rapidly fabricated using an electromagnetic printhead. Our custom printhead clips onto a standard 3D printer and can both write and read magnetic pixel values from magnetic material. We provide a user interface that lets user specify the high-level magnetic behavior and that computes the underlying magnetic pixel assignments and fabrication instructions to program a magnetic surface.


IROS22
Selective Self-Assembly using Re-Programmable Magnetic Pixels
Publication Venue: IEEE IROS (2022) pdf youtube
Advisors: Stefanie Mueller, MIT and Ryo Suzuki, University of Calgary.

This project introduces a method to generate highly selective encodings that can be magnetically "programmed" onto physical modules to enable them to self-assemble in chosen configurations. We generate these encodings based on Hadamard matrices, and show how to design the faces of modules to be maximally attractive to their intended mate, while remaining maximally agnostic to other faces. We derive guarantees on these bounds, and verify their attraction and agnosticism experimentally. Using cubic modules whose faces have been covered in soft magnetic material, we show how inexpensive, passive modules with planar faces can be used to selectively self-assemble into target shapes without geometric guides.


ICRA22
ElectroVoxel: Electromagnetically Actuated Pivoting for Scalable Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robots
Publication Venue: IEEE ICRA (2022) pdf doi youtube Press Videos: youtube youtube
Advisors: Stefanie Mueller, MIT and Ryo Suzuki, University of Calgary

ElectroVoxel is a cube-based reconfigurable robot that utilizes an electromagnet-based actuation framework to reconfigure in three dimensions via pivoting. Electromagnets embedded into the edges of each cube - or voxel - create repulsive or attractive forces to drive pivoting maneuvers or create hinges, respectively. We demonstrate self-reconfiguration on an air-table in the lab, and in microgravity on a parabolic flight.


CHI21
LaserFactory: An Electromechanical Assembly and Fabrication Platform Integrated with a Laser Cutter to make Functional Devices and Robots
Publication Venue: ACM CHI (2021) pdf doi youtube Press video: youtube
Advisors: Steve Hodges, Microsoft Research Cambridge and Stefanie Mueller, MIT

LaserFactory is an integrated fabrication process that augments a commercially available fabrication machine to support the manufacture of fully functioning devices and robots without human intervention. In addition to creating 2D and 3D mechanical structures, LaserFactory creates conductive circuit traces with arbitrary geometries, picks-and-places electronic and electromechanical components, and solders them in place.


CHI20
Curveboards: Integrating Breadboards into Physical Objects to Prototype Function in the Context of Form
Publication Venue: ACM CHI (2020) pdf doi Video: youtube
Advisor: Stefanie Mueller, MIT

CurveBoards are breadboards integrated into physical objects. In contrast to traditional breadboards, CurveBoards better preserve the object's look and feel while maintaining circuit fluidity, which enables designers to exchange and reposition components during design iteration. We provide an interactive editor that enables users to convert 3D models into CurveBoards and introduce a method to fabricate Curveboards using conductive silicone.


flui20
Fluifiber: Interweaving Moving Bodies over Distance via Programmable Tensegrity
Exhibition: Ars Electronica (2020) doi
Advisor: Hiroshi Ishii, MIT

Aspects of human movement that are unobserved visually, such as pressure and muscular tension, are represented by a programmable tensegrity structure that records and replays a dancer's body movements. We hypothesize that the nervous system, given abstract information in the form of a tangible dancing tensegrity structure, will endeavor to compensate for absent information in order to understand the body's movement in full.


TEI19
Sequential Support: 3D Printing Dissolvable Support Material for Time-Dependent Mechanisms
Publication Venue: ACM TEI (2019) pdf doi Video: youtube
Advisor: Stefanie Mueller, MIT

We leverage the dissolution of standard support material (PVA) to enable applications beyond its traditional use case as a support structure for 3D prints. These include time-dependent mechanisms such as the timed release of scents from a 3D-printed structure sequentially overnight. To this end, we build a custom 3D editor plugin including a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation to create statistically accurate simulations for how the material dissolves over time.


ists17
An Electromagnetically Actuated, Self-Reconfigurable Space Structure
Publication Venue: JSASS ISTS (2017) pdf
Advisor: Dario Izzo, European Space Agency

We present a conceptual framework for achieving on-orbit formation of reconfigurable space structures using individually actuated electromagnets embedded in the edges of large swarms of miniature spacecraft that are based on the PocketQube.


iros16
Feedback-Controlled Self-Folding of Autonomous Robot Collectives
Publication Venue: IEEE IROS (2016) pdf doi Video: youtube
Advisor: Robert Wood, Harvard University

Design and fabrication of self-folding structures and robots. Starting with building composite materials from shape memory polymers, flexible PCBs and resistive heating elements, we implemented a controller to allow flat laminates to autonomously self-fold into arbitrary 3D configurations.

Teaching


superurop
MIT Advanced Undergaduate Research Opportunities Program (SuperUROP)
Teaching Assistant, Spring 2022 doi

The Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, better known as SuperUROP, is designed for MIT juniors and seniors seeking an advanced research experience working closely with a faculty advisor and producing publication-worthy results. As a Teaching Assistant for the program, I mentor 16 students on their research, providing guidance on technical problems, research direction, technical writing and communication.


BBB
Brave Behind Bars
Co-founder, Co-instructor, Summer 2023, 2022, 2021 doi Videos: [2022] youtube and [2021] youtube

Brave Behind Bars is a college-accredited introductory computer science and career-readiness program for incarcerated women that I launched out of MIT's The Education Justice Institute with fellow graduate student Marisa Gaetz. Instructed both online and in-person with help from our non-profit collaborator Brave Course, our Summer '21 pilot program brought together 30 women from four correctional facilities across New England. Since then, we have expanded our program to men and women, and our 2023 mixed-gender classroom of 55 students were taught by 21 Harvard- and MIT-affiliated coaches alongside formerly incarcerated graduates of our pilot program. Together, our students develop skills in digital literacy, web design, and career-readiness, building websites to help address some of society's most pressing issues.


EIT
Engineering Interactive Technologies
Teaching Assistant, Fall 2017 doi

Engineering Interactive Technologies is an MIT course that provides instruction in building cutting-edge interactive technologies, explains the underlying engineering concepts, and shows how those technologies evolved over time. Students use a studio format for constructing software and hardware prototypes. Topics include interactive technologies, such as multi-touch, augmented reality, haptics, wearables, and shape-changing interfaces. In a group project, students build their own interactive hardware/software prototypes and present them in a live demo at the end of term.

Publications


FULL PAPERS


  • Ramarko Bhattacharya, Jonathan Lindstrom, Ahmad Taka, Martin Nisser, Stefanie Mueller, Ken Nakagaki. "FabRobotics: Fusing 3D Printing with Mobile Robots to Advance Fabrication, Robotics, and Interaction", In Proceedings of ACM TEI 2024.

  • Martin Nisser, Marisa Gaetz, Andrew Fishberg, Raechel Soicher, Faraz Faruqi, Joshua Long. "From Prisons to Programming: Fostering Self-Efficacy via Virtual Web Design Curricula in Prisons and Jails", In Proceedings of ACM CHI 2024.

  • Bahar Haghighat, Johannes Boghaert, Zev Minsky-Primus, Julia Ebert, Fangzheng Liu, Martin Nisser, Ariel Ekblaw, Radhika Nagpal. "An Approach Based on Particle Swarm Optimization for Inspection of Spacecraft Hulls by a Swarm of Miniaturized Robots", In Proceedings of ANTS 2022.

  • Martin Nisser, Yashaswini Makaram, Lucian Covarrubias, Amadou Bah, Faraz Faruqi, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller. "Mixels: Fabricating Interfaces using Programmable Magnetic Pixels", In Proceedings of UIST 2022.

  • Martin Nisser, Yashaswini Makaram, Faraz Faruqi, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller. "Selective Self-Assembly using Re-Programmable Magnetic Pixels", In Proceedings of IROS 2022.

  • Martin Nisser, Leon Cheng, Yashaswini Makaram, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller. "ElectroVoxel: Electromagnetically Actuated Pivoting for Scalable Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robots", In Proceedings of ICRA 2022.

  • Martin Nisser, Christina Chen Liao, Yuchen Chai, Aradhana Adhikari, Steve Hodges, Stefanie Mueller, "LaserFactory: An Electromechanical Assembly and Fabrication Platform Integrated with a Laser Cutter to make Functional Devices and Robots", In Proceedings of CHI 2021.

  • Junyi Zhu, Lotta-Gili Blumberg, Yunyi Zhu, Martin Nisser, Ethan Levi Carlson, Xin Wen, Kevin Shum, Jessica Ayeley Quaye, Stefanie Mueller, "CurveBoards: Integrating Breadboards into Physical Objects to Prototype Function in the Context of Form", In Proceedings of CHI 2020, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, April 2020.

  • Martin Nisser, Junyi Zhu, Tianye Chen, Katarina Bulovic, Parinya Punpongsanon, Stefanie Mueller, “Sequential Support: 3D Printing Dissolvable Support Material for Time-Dependent Mechanisms,” in Proceedings of TEI 2019, Tempe, Arizona, March 2019.

  • Martin Nisser, Andreas Borggraefe and Dario Izzo, “An Electromagnetically Actuated, Self-Reconfigurable Space Structure,” the 31st International Symposium on Space Technology and Science, Matsuyama, Japan, June 2017.

  • M. E. W. Nisser, S. M. Felton, M. T. Tolley, M. Rubenstein and R. J. Wood, “Feedback-Controlled Self-Folding of Autonomous Robot Collectives,” IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Daejeon, South Korea, October 2016.

    SHORT PAPERS, DEMOS, POSTERS & WORKSHOPS


  • Martin Nisser, Faraz Faruqi, Xin Luo, Joseph Berleant, Mark Bathe, Stefanie Mueller. "Code-theoretic Assembly of Molecular Machines". Poster, IEEE IROS 2023.

  • Martin Nisser, Paulo Nascimento, Stefanie Mueller. "Towards On-Demand Manufacturing: A Review of Technical Capabilities and Future Perspectives". Poster, MIT-Portugal RIS 2023.

  • Cedric Honnet, Yunyi Zhu, Martin Nisser, Chao Liu, Byungchul Kim, Jae Hun Seol, Jongho Lee, Daniela Rus, Stefanie Mueller. "Laser-Etching Flexible Sensors for Robotic Touch Recognition", Poster, IEEE ICRA 2023.

  • Lauren Niu, Xinyi Yang, Martin Nisser, Stefanie Mueller. "PullupStructs: Digital Fabrication for Folding Structures via Pull-up Nets", In Proceedings of ACM TEI Works in Progress 2023.

  • Xinyi Yang, Martin Nisser, Stefanie Mueller. "CompuMat: A Computational Composite Material for Tangible Interaction", In Proceedings of ACM TEI Works in Progress 2023.

  • Martin Nisser, Yashaswini Makaram, Lucian Covarrubias, Amadou Bah, Faraz Faruqi, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller. "Demonstration of Mixels: Fabricating Interfaces using Programmable Magnetic Pixels", In Proceedings of UIST 2022.

  • Pat Pataranutaporn, Martin Nisser, Valentina Sumini, Melodie Yashar, Susanna Testa, Marianna Obrist, Scott Davidoff, Amber M. Paul, Dorit Donoviel, Jimmy Wu, Sands A Fish, Ariel Ekblaw, Albrecht Schmidt, Joe Paradiso, Pattie Maes. "SpaceCHI 2.0: Advancing Human-Computer Interaction Systems for Space Exploration". Workshop, ACM CHI 2022.

  • Martin Nisser, Yashaswini Makaram, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller. "Stochastic Self-Assembly with Magnetically Re-programmable Voxels". Demo, ACM SCF 2021.

  • Martin Nisser, Leon Cheng, Yashaswini Makaram, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller, "Programmable Polarities: Actuating Interactive Prototypes with Programmable Electromagnets", Demo, ACM UIST 2021.

  • Martin Nisser, Ryo Suzuki, Stefanie Mueller, "Reconfigurable Structures for Rapid Prototyping in Microgravity", Extended Abstract & Poster, SpaceCHI, ACM CHI 2021.

  • Junyi Zhu, Lotta-Gili Blumberg, Yunyi Zhu, Martin Nisser, Ethan Levi Carlson, Xin Wen, Kevin Shum, Jessica Ayeley Quaye, Stefanie Mueller. CurveBoards: Integrating Breadboards into Physical Objects to Prototype Function in the Context of Form. Demo, ACM CHI 2020.

  • Martin Nisser, Junyi Zhu, Tianye Chen, Katarina Bulovic, Parinya Punpongsanon Stefanie Mueller. Demonstration of Sequential Support: 3D Printing Dissolvable Support Material for Time-Dependent Mechanisms. Poster, ACM SCF 2019.

    Academic Service


    ORGANIZING

    SpaceCHI '23 Co-Chair for inaugural SpaceCHI conference
    ACM CHI '23 Session Chair for Smart Homes & Makers
    SpaceCHI '22 - Organizing committee for SpaceCHI Workshop at ACM CHI '22
    MUM '21 - Program committee for Posters Track at ACM MUM '21
    MIT TEJI '20 - Member & Project Co-lead at the MIT Educational Justice Institute
    CPGSC '20 - Inaugural Member, MIT CSAIL Postdoc and Graduate Student Council
    UIST '18 - Student Volunteer for Program Committee, ACM UIST '20



    REVIEWING

    IEEE CASE - Reviewer for CASE '23
    IEEE Transactions on Robotics - Reviewer for TRO '22
    SIGGRAPH Asia - Reviewer for SIGGRAPH Asia '22
    IEEE ICRA - Reviewer for IEEE ICRA '22, '24
    IEEE IROS - Reviewer for IEEE IROS '22
    ACM UIST - Reviewer for ACM UIST '18, '22
    ACM CHI - Reviewer for ACM CHI '21, '22, '24

    Recognition


    AWARDS


    The Seth J. Teller Award for Excellence, Inclusion and Diversity (2023)
    For work in service to DEI in memory of Professor Seth Teller.



    The Collier Medal (2023)
    For distinction in service to the Institute in memory of Officer Sean Collier.



    Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize (2023)
    Honorable mention for essay on personal manufacturing, awarded by the Initiative on Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing.



    Priscilla King Gray Award for Public Service (2022)
    Awarded to a student for exceptional contributions to public service.



    Thomas G. Stockham, Jr. and Bernard Gold Fellowship (2022)
    Awarded to a student who has made significant contributions to the field of signal processing while contributing to extraordinary teaching and mentoring at MIT.



    MIT Teaching Award - The Educational Justice Institute (2021)
    For contributions to delivering educational programming to incarcerated students.



    The Sweden America Foundation (2021)
    Fellowship in support of doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



    Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2020)
    Scholarship in Engineering Sciences in support of doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



    Hans Werth‌én Foundation Fellowship (2020)
    Scholarship awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering in support of doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



    The Blanceflor Boncompagni Ludovisi, née Bildt Scholarship (2017)
    Granted in support of doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



    Funch's Scholarship (2014)
    Granted in support of research conducted at Harvard University.



    IMechE Best Student Award (2013)
    Awarded by the University of Edinburgh on behalf of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to the best performing student of the graduating class.






    INVITED TALKS


    University of Colorado Boulder
    ATLAS Institute (03/2024)

    Princeton University
    Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (02/2024)

    Max Planck Institute
    MPI for Intelligent Systems (02/2024)

    University of Washington
    Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics (01/2024)

    University of Cambridge
    Institute for Manufacturing (11/2023)

    KTH Royal Institute of Technology
    Seminar speaker in human-computer interaction (04/2023)

    Kristianstad University
    Invited speaker, Dept. of Computer Science (04/2023)

    Yale University
    Guest Lecture in class The Mechanical Artifact (03/2023)

    MIT Washington Club of DC
    Seminar speaker on education in correctional facilities (03/2023)

    NASA, Kennedy Space Center
    SpaceX CRS-26 Launch Commentary (11/2022)

    Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
    APL Space Manufacturing Seminar (07/2022)

    Harvard University
    Harvard Microrobotics Lab (07/2022)

    IEEE ICRA
    Workshop on Modular, Self-Reconfigurable Robots (05/2022)

    MIT Media Lab
    Beyond the Cradle (04/2022)

    MIT Hack for Inclusion
    Non-Profit Education Panelist (04/2022)

    Audible
    Invited speaker (04/2022)

    European Space Agency
    Advanced Concepts Team (03/2022)


    MIT Horizons
    Manufacturing Technology Seminar (04/2021)
    PRESS

    MSNBC Morning Joe
    Interviewed for feature on prison education program Brave Behind Bars

    NBC Daily Show
    Interviewed for feature on prison education program Brave Behind Bars

    BBC Science Focus
    Featured in June 2023 issue (print only) for work on programmable materials (Mixels)

    The Washington Post
    ISS Extrusion Project featured in The Washington Post

    Popular Science
    Interviewed in Popular Science about Extrusion Project, our microgravity fabrication platform currently aboard the ISS.

    NASA TV
    Interviewed Live at Kennedy Space Center for NASA TV's SpaceX CRS-26 Launch Commentary as Science Lead for MIT's ISS-bound Extrusion Payload.

    SpaceX / NASA Media Telecon
    Interviewed in NASA's SpaceX CRS-26 Media Telecon , press release and highlight reel as Science Lead for MIT's ISS-bound fabrication platform.

    The Washington Post
    Coverage in WaPo about Brave Behind Bars, a prison education program I cofounded

    Forbes
    Interview in Forbes for Electrovoxel. Also in the associated Tech First article and podcast

    Popular Science
    Interview in Popular Science about ElectroVoxel

    Engadget
    ElectroVoxel featured in Engadget

    MIT News
    ElectroVoxel featured in MIT News

    IEEE Spectrum
    ElectroVoxel featured in IEEE Spectrum

    Hackster.io
    ElectroVoxel featured on Hackster.io

    Arduino Blog
    ElectroVoxel featured on the Arduino Blog

    NPR
    Prison Education Initiative, BBB, featured on GBH, Boston's local National Public Radio

    MIT News
    Prison Education Initiative, BBB, featured in MIT News

    BBC News
    Interview for LaserFactory on BBC. Also viewable on BBC iPlayer , Click , and YouTube.

    WeVolver
    Interview for LaserFactory on WeVolver. Available as an article and as a podcast.

    MIT News
    LaserFactory featured in MIT News

    Yahoo News
    LaserFactory featured in Yahoo News

    VentureBeat
    LaserFactory featured in VentureBeat

    Techcrunch
    LaserFactory featured in Techcrunch

    Engadget
    LaserFactory featured in Engadget

    IEEE Spectrum
    LaserFactory featured in IEEE Spectrum

    Ars Electronica
    Fluifiber project featured in the Kepler's Gardens exhibit

    MIT News
    Curveboards featured in MIT News

    ACM Tech News
    Curveboards featured in ACM Tech News

    IEEE Spectrum
    Master’s thesis published at IROS featured in IEEE Spectrum


    Experience


    Education
    PhD Computer Science (06/2019 - Current)
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Degree GPA: 5.0/5.0
    Supervisor: Prof. Stefanie Mueller.
    Area of Concentration: Robotics and fabrication.

    SM Computer Science (09/2017 - 06/2019)
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Degree GPA: 5.0/5.0
    Supervisor: Prof. Stefanie Mueller.
    Area of Concentration: Artifical Intelligence.

    Visiting Research Scholar (09/2014 - 09/2015)
    Harvard University
    Supervisor: Prof. Robert Wood.
    Project: Feedback-Controlled Self-Folding of Autonomous Robot Collectives.

    MSc Robotics, Systems and Control (09/2013 - 10/2015)
    ETH Zurich
    Degree GPA: 5.5/6
    Supervisors: Prof. Roland Siegwart and Prof. Bradley Nelson.
    Thesis: Feedback-Controlled Self-Folding with Shape Memory Composites.

    BEng Mechanical Engineering with Renewable Energy (09/2009 - 06/2013)
    University of Edinburgh
    Degree class: First Class Honours.
    Supervisor: Prof. Frank Mill.
    Thesis: Design and Optimization of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.


    Employment
    Research Intern (06/2023 - 08/2023)
    Boston Dynamics AI Institute
    Research area: Underactuated robotics.

    Young Graduate Trainee (09/2016 - 08/2017)
    European Space Agency, Advanced Concepts Team
    Research area: Morphing space structures.

    Project Intern (02/2016 - 07/2016)
    Tesla Motors, Supercharging Team
    Working area: Financial forecasting and charging trends analysis.


    Mentored students


    Graduate
    Amadou Bah (MEng, Fall 2021 - Spring 2022)
    Project: Reconfigurable Robots

    Leon Chen (MEng, Spring 2021 - Summer 2021)
    Project: Reconfigurable Robots

    Christina Liao (MEng, Summer 2019 - Spring 2020)
    Project: LaserFactory (CHI '21)
    First place recipient of the Charles & Jennifer Johnson Computer Science MEng Thesis Award

    YuChen Chai (Visiting researcher, Tsinghua University, Fall 2019 - Spring 2020)
    Project: LaserFactory (CHI '21)

    Aradhana Adhikari (MEng, Fall 2019 - Spring 2020)
    Project: LaserFactory (CHI '21)


    Undergraduate
    Ngima Hyolmo (UROP, Spring 2023)
    Project: Heterogeneous robots

    Raiphy Jerez (UROP, Spring 2023)
    Project: Reconfigurable Robots
    MIT EECS 2023 Jeremy Gerstle Best UROP Award

    Moaaz Fayumy (UROP, Spring 2023)
    Project: Reconfigurable robots

    Ahmad Taka (UROP, Spring 2023)
    Project: Heterogenous robots
    MIT EECS 2023 Anna Pogosyants Best UROP Award

    Rohan Wagh (UROP, Spring 2023)
    Project: Reconfigurable robots

    Sarah Pomerants (UROP, IAP 2023)
    Project: Reconfigurable robots

    Timothy Grazier (UROP, Summer 2022)
    Project: Microgravity extrusion

    Connor Kaminska (UROP, Summer 2022)
    Project: Microgravity extrusion

    Xinyi Yang (Harvard visiting student, Summer 2022)
    Project: Computational origami for self-folding

    Benjamin Neal (Harvard visiting student, Summer 2022)
    Project: Heterogenous robots

    Christopher Evagora (UROP, Summer 2022)
    Project: Reconfigurable robots

    William Reinkensmeyer (UROP, Spring 2022)
    Project: Microgravity Extrusion

    Andrew Shin (UROP, Spring 2022)
    Project: Microgravity Extrusion

    Lucian Covarrubias (UROP, Fall 2021)
    Project: Programmable Polarities

    Michael Lu (UROP, Fall 2021)
    Project: Reconfigurable Robots

    Yashaswini Makaram (UROP, Spring 2021 - Fall 2021)
    Project: Reconfigurable Robots

    Natalie Muradyan (UROP, Spring 2021)
    Project: Microgravity Extrusion

    Aiden Padilla (UROP, Spring 2021)
    Project: Microgravity Extrusion

    Marvin Zetina-Jimenez (UROP, Summer 2020)
    Project: Robot User Interfaces

    Mojolaoluwa Oke (UROP, Summer 2019)
    Project: LaserFactory (CHI '21)

    Tianye Chen (UROP, Spring 2018)
    Project: Sequential Support (TEI '19)

    Katarina Bulovic (UROP,Spring 2018 - Summer 2018)
    Project: Sequential Support (TEI '19)