Candidate: Yi Xu

Candidate’s Field: Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Committee: Alan Zehnder (Chair), Derek Warner, Meredith Silberstein

Time and Place: Friday, June 2, 2017, 1:00 p.m., 178 Rhodes Hall

Dissertation Title:  Studies of Mechanical Behavior of HFPE-II-52 Polyimide in Extreme Environments

Candidate: Mukul Tikekar

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Donald Koch (Chair), Lynden Archer, Brian Kirby

Time and Place: Monday, May 22, 2017, 2:00 p.m., 246 Olin Hall

Dissertation Title:  Ion Transport, Rheology, and their effect on Morphological Instabilities in Electrodeposition

Candidate: Chris Larson

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Robert Shepherd (Chair), Ross Knepper, Meredith Silberstein

Time and Place: Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 8:00 a.m., 531 Upson Hall

Dissertation Title:  Deformable Media for Visual and Tactile Interfaces

Candidate: Perry Schein

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: David Erickson (Chair), Donald Koch, Warren Zipfel

Time and Place: Tuesday, April 25, 2017, 1:00 p.m., 151 Rhodes Hall

Dissertation Title:  Nanophotonic Force Microscopy:  Measureing Nanoparticle Interations on the Thermal Energy Scale Using Near-field Optical Trapping and Light Scattering

Candidate: Paula Doubrawa

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Rebecca J. Barthelmie (Chair, MAE), Sara C. Pryor (EAS), Perrine Pepiot (MAE) and Matt Churchfield (NREL).

Time and Place: Wednesday, April 12, 2017, 10:30 a.m., 340 Duffield Hall

Dissertation Title:  Integration of Measurements and Models for Wind Characterization

Dr. Doubrawa is the first student to achieve a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with an all-female Cornell Supervisory Committee.

(Left to Right) Professor Perrine Pepiot (MAE), Professor Rebecca J. Barthelmie (Chair, MAE), Dr. Paula Doubrawa, and Professor Sara C. Pryor (EAS).

Candidate: Michael Meller

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Mark Campbell (Chair), Amit Lal, Robert Shepherd, Matthew Bryant

Time and Place: Friday, December 16, 2016, 1:00 p.m., 340 Duffield Hall

Dissertation Title:  Bioinspired Hydraulic McKibben Actuation for Efficient Robotic Motion: Energetics, Variable Recruitment, and Control

Candidate: Erin Cresswell

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Christopher Hernandez (Chair), Marjolein van der Meulen, Lawrence Bonassar

Time and Place: Friday, December 16, 2016, 1:00 p.m., 178 Rhodes Hall

Dissertation Title:  Spatial Regulation of Bone Formation in Functional Adaptation of Cancellous Bone

Candidate: Huichan Zhao

Candidate’s Field: Mechanical Engineering

Committee: Robert Shepherd (Chair), Andy Ruina, Eve Donnelly

Time and Place: Monday, December 5, 2016, 10:00 a.m., 531 Upson Hall

Dissertation Title: Fabrication, Sensation and Control of Fluidic Elastomer Actuators and Their Application Towards Hand Orthotics and Prosthetics

Candidate: Riley Schutt

Candidate’s Field: Aerospace Engineering

Committee: Charles Williamson (Chair), Olivier Desjardins, Edwin Cowen

Time and Place: Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 3:30 p.m., 178 Rhodes Hall

Dissertation Title: Unsteady Aerodynamics of Sailing Maneuvers and Kinetic Techniques

Candidate:  Timothy Lannin

Candidate’s Field:  Mechanical Engineering

Committee:  Brian Kirby (Chair), Ankur Singh, Gerald Feigenson

Time and Place:  Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 9:00 a.m., 204 Thurston Hall

Dissertation Title:  Two Tools for Three Characterizations of Cells:  machine learning for automated cancer cell identification and electrorotation for cancer cell and algae cell electrical property measurement