Alumni
Nicole Abaid
Ph.D. dissertation: Fish, networks, and synchronization
Current position: Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Blacksburg, VA
Current position: Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Blacksburg, VA
Karl Abdelnour
Master thesis: Design and analysis of a wireless powering system for ionic polymer metal composites towards hovering micro-swimmers
Current position: Director, Citi – Greater New York City Area
Current position: Director, Citi – Greater New York City Area
Matteo Aureli
Ph.D. dissertation: Multiphysics modeling of ionic polymer metal composites for underwater applications
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Nevada – Reno, NV
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Nevada – Reno, NV
Roni Barak Ventura
Ph.D. dissertation: Exploring design principles toward enhanced engagement in technology-mediated telerehabilitation
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University – Brooklyn, NY; Engineering Analyst – National Science Foundation (NSF) – Alexandria, VA
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University – Brooklyn, NY; Engineering Analyst – National Science Foundation (NSF) – Alexandria, VA
Alain Boldini
Ph.D. dissertation: Understanding actuation in ionic polymer composites: from physical principles to engineering design
Current position: Assistant Professor, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) – Old Westbury, NY
Current position: Assistant Professor, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) – Old Westbury, NY
Filippo Cellini
Ph.D. dissertation: Mechanoresponsive and thermoresponsive polymer sensors with applications in experimental mechanics and fluid mechanics
Current position: Data Strategy and Analytics Associate Consultant, ZS – Boston, MA
Current position: Data Strategy and Analytics Associate Consultant, ZS – Boston, MA
Youngsu Cha
Ph.D. dissertation: Physics-based modeling of ionic polymer metal composites for underwater energy harvesting
Current position: Associate Professor, Korea University – Seoul, South Korea
Current position: Associate Professor, Korea University – Seoul, South Korea
Woojin Chae
Master thesis: Flow measurement and thrust estimation of a vibrating ionic polymer metal composite
Current position: Software Engineer, Google – New York, NY
Current position: Software Engineer, Google – New York, NY
Giovanni Del Bufalo
Master thesis: Fabrication, static characterization, and modeling of ionic polymer metal composites
Current position: Plant Manager, Eni – Rome, Italy
Current position: Plant Manager, Eni – Rome, Italy
Francesca Fiorilli
Ph.D. dissertation: Control of complex networks: chaotic oscillators and animal grouping
Current position: Senior Manager, London Stock Exchange Group – London, United Kingdom
Current position: Senior Manager, London Stock Exchange Group – London, United Kingdom
Alberto Giacomello
Master thesis: Underwater energy harvesting from a heavy flag hosting ionic polymer metal composites
Current position: Associate Professor, Sapienza University of Rome – Rome, Italy
Current position: Associate Professor, Sapienza University of Rome – Rome, Italy
Mohammad Jalalisendi
Ph.D. dissertation: Experimental investigation of fluid-structure interaction problems with applications to marine environments
Current position: Mechanical Engineer/Project Manager, Cameron Engineering – New York, NY
Current position: Mechanical Engineer/Project Manager, Cameron Engineering – New York, NY
Mert Karakaya
Ph.D. dissertation: Biologically inspired robotics for the study of fish social behavior
Current position: Research Engineer, IPVM – Bethlehem, PA
Current position: Research Engineer, IPVM – Bethlehem, PA
Changsu Kim
Master thesis: Closed-loop control of zebrafish behavior in three dimensions using a robotic stimulus
Current position: Graduate Student, University of Maryland – College Park, MD; Engineering Intern, Apple – Cupertino, CA
Current position: Graduate Student, University of Maryland – College Park, MD; Engineering Intern, Apple – Cupertino, CA
Vladislav Kopman
Master thesis: Experimental characterization and modeling of free-locomotion of biomimetic robotic swimmers
Ph.D. dissertation: Design, characterization, and modeling of underwater robots for ethorobotics
Current position: CEO, Vkanix, Inc. – New York, NY
Ph.D. dissertation: Design, characterization, and modeling of underwater robots for ethorobotics
Current position: CEO, Vkanix, Inc. – New York, NY
Jeffrey Laut
Ph.D. dissertation: Citizen-science based aquatic environmental monitoring using mobile robots
Current position: CEO, Manifold Robotics – New York, NY
Current position: CEO, Manifold Robotics – New York, NY
Raymond Le Grand
Master thesis: A multi-mode interactive idevice application for control of a biomimetic robotic fish
Current position: Director of Operations, Sparhawk Academy – Cambridge, MA
Current position: Director of Operations, Sparhawk Academy – Cambridge, MA
Elisa Mancia
Master thesis: Numerical analysis of the flow physics and thrust generation of a flapping ionic polymer metal composite foil towards the design of a biomimetic swimmer
Current position: Project Manager, IRSN – Île-de-France, France
Current position: Project Manager, IRSN – Île-de-France, France
Violet Mwaffo
Ph.D. dissertation: Data driven modeling and analysis of zebrafish individual and social behavior
Current position: Assistant Professor of Weapons, Robotics, and Control Engineering, United States Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD
Current position: Assistant Professor of Weapons, Robotics, and Control Engineering, United States Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD
Matthieu Nadini
Ph.D. dissertation: Analysis and inference in temporal networks, with application to epidemic spreading
Current position: Data Scientist, Elliptic – London, United Kingdom
Current position: Data Scientist, Elliptic – London, United Kingdom
Gianluca Notaro
Master thesis: Design and realization of a miniature remotely controlled robotic fish based on ionic polymer metal composites
Current position: Material and Contract Specialist, Enel Green Power – Rome, Italy
Current position: Material and Contract Specialist, Enel Green Power – Rome, Italy
Christopher Pagano
Master thesis: Development of a quadricopter for environmental flow observations
Current position: Project Engineer, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory – Princeton, NJ; Founder, Cross Product Technology LLC – New York, NY
Current position: Project Engineer, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory – Princeton, NJ; Founder, Cross Product Technology LLC – New York, NY
Paul Phamduy
Ph.D. dissertation: Robotic fish to aid animal behavior studies and informal science learning
Current position: Systems Engineer, Raytheon Technologies – New York, NY
Current position: Systems Engineer, Raytheon Technologies – New York, NY
Alessandro Rovardi
Master thesis: Particle image velocimetry study of vibrating ionic polymer metal composites in aqueous environments
Current position: Director of Research Development, ABB – Bergamo, Italy
Current position: Director of Research Development, ABB – Bergamo, Italy
Adel Shams
Ph.D. dissertation: Failure mechanics of syntactic foams with applications to marine environments
Current position: Product Lead, Senior Staff Engineer R&D, Beckton Dickinson – New York, NY
Current position: Product Lead, Senior Staff Engineer R&D, Beckton Dickinson – New York, NY
Linfeng Shen
Master thesis: Buckling of an ionic polymer metal composite pipe under axial compression
Current position: Technical Support Engineer, Festo – Shanghai City, China
Current position: Technical Support Engineer, Festo – Shanghai City, China
Gabriele Tagliavia
Ph.D. dissertation: Micromechanics of syntactic foams: Viscoelastic behavior, elastic properties, mechanics of debonding, and moisture diffusion
Current position: VP, Global Production System, Darkstore Operations, Gorillas – Berlin, Germany
Current position: VP, Global Production System, Darkstore Operations, Gorillas – Berlin, Germany
Flavia Tauro
Ph.D. dissertation: Fluorescent particle tracers for surface hydrology
Current position: Assistant Professor, Tuscia University – Viterbo, Italy
Current position: Assistant Professor, Tuscia University – Viterbo, Italy
RECENT VISITING RESEARCHERS AND POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
Tiziana Bartolini
Current position: Environmental Consultant, AECOM – London, United Kingdom
Alain Boldini
Current position: Assistant Professor, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) – Old Westbury, NY
Daniel A. Burbano-L.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, NJ
Sachit Butail
Current position: Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University – DeKalb, IL
Francesco Cappa
Current position: Assistant Professor of Innovation, Campus Bio-Medico University – Rome, Italy; Adjunct Professor, LUISS Guido Carli University – Rome, Italy
Rishita Das
Current position: Associate Professor – Bangalore, India
Mauro De Bellis
Current position: Product Engineer, CNH Industrial – Lecce, Italy
Pietro De Lellis
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Naples “Federico II” – Naples, Italy
Andrea Facci
Current position: Associate Professor, Tuscia University – Viterbo, Italy
Giacomo Falcucci
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Rome “Tor Vergata” – Rome, Italy
Emiliano Henry
Current position: Technical Product Support Analyst, Double Verify – New York, NY
Stefano Marras
Current position: Researcher, Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC) – Oristano, Italy
Shinnosuke Nakayama
Current position: Data Research Scientist, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University – Stanford, CA
Eduardo Palermo
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sapienza University of Rome – Rome, Italy
Riccardo Panciroli
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Rome Niccolò Cusano – Rome, Italy
Catherine N. Phan
Current position: Engineer, The Aerospace Corporation – El Segundo, CA
Giovanni Polverino
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tuscia University – Viterbo, Italy; Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Wong Lab, Monash University – Melbourne, Australia
Tommaso Ruberto
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Roma Tre University – Rome, Italy
Francesco Surano
Current position: Data Analyst, Satispay – Milan, Italy
Agnieszka Truszkowska
Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Alabama in Huntsville – Huntsville, AL
Yanpeng Yang
Current position: Senior Researcher, Ericsson – Stockholm, Sweden
Peng Zhang
Current position: Assistant Professor, Tennessee Tech University – Cookeville, TN
Lorenzo Zino
Current position: Assistant Professor, Polytechnic University of Turin – Turin, Italy