Tony G. Chen is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech. His research focuses on designing mechanical intelligent mechanisms for various robotics applications. Mechanical intelligence focuses on developing mechanisms and robotic platforms that make challenges for perception, control, and autonomy easier or more robust for natural, unstructured, and often unpredictable environments by virtue of their physical designs. To achieve this design approach, two main and common methods are often deployed: rapid prototyping and bio-inspiration. Chen is especially interested in three major research application areas: (i) field robotics where designing new robotic mobility platforms or equipping existing platforms with capabilities of manipulation, (ii) manipulation tasks in home and industrial environments, and (iii) biomimetic robotics for biological study.

Dr. Aidun joined the Woodruff School as a Professor in 2003 after completion of a two-year period as program director at the National Science Foundation. He began at Tech in 1988 as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Prior, he was a research Scientist at Battelle Research Laboratories, Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University and Senior Research Consultant at the National Science Foundation's Supercomputer Center at Cornell. 

Dr. Aidun's research is at the intersection between fundamentals of the physics of complex fluids/thermal transport and applications to engineering and biotransport. He has a diverse research portfolio in fluid mechanics, bioengineering, renewable bioproducts and decarbonization of industrial processes. 

A major focus has been to understand the physics of blood cell transport and interaction with glycoproteins (e.g., vWF) with applications to cardiovascular diseases.

Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb joined Georgia Tech in summer 2007 as an assistant professor at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Prior to this, she was a senior engineer in the materials and device R&D group of MEMS Research and Innovation Center at QUALCOMM MEMS Technologies, Inc. Her work included characterization and optimization of optical and electric response of IMOD displays and research on novel materials for improved processing and reliability of IMOD. Bassiri-Gharb's research interests are in smart and energy-related materials (e.g. ferroelectric and multiferroic materials) and their application to nano- and micro-electromechanical systems. Her research projects integrate novel micro and nanofabrication techniques and processes and study of the fundamental science of these materials at the nanoscale, at the interface of physical and electrochemical phenomena.

Dr. Deo came to Georgia Tech in August 2007 as an Assistant Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering. Prior, he was a postdoctoral research associate in the Materials Science and Technology Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He studied radiation effects in structural materials (iron and ferritic steels) and nuclear fuels (uranium dioxide). He also obtained research experience at Princeton University (Mechanical Engineering), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories.

Baratunde A. Cola is a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his degrees from Vanderbilt University and Purdue University, all in mechanical engineering, and was a starting fullback on the Vanderbilt football team as an undergrad. Cola has received a number of prestigious early career research awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers (PECASE) in 2012 from President Obama for his work in nanotechnology, energy, and outreach to high school art and science teachers and students; the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science in 2013; and the 2015 Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In addition to research and teaching, Cola is the founder and CEO of Carbice Corporation, which sells a leading thermal management solution for the global electronics industry.

Dr. Yeo holds the titles of G.P. "Bud" Peterson and Valerie H. Peterson Endowed Professor, as well as Harris Saunders Jr. Endowed Professor, in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech. He is also the director of the Wearable Intelligent Systems and Healthcare Center (WISH Center) and the KIAT-Georgia Tech Semiconductor Electronics Center (K-GTSEC). Dr. Yeo's research focuses on understanding the fundamentals of soft materials, deformable mechanics, interfacial physics, manufacturing, and the integration of hard and soft materials for the development of biomedical systems. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and genome sciences from the University of Washington in Seattle and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With over 180 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Yeo has contributed to many prestigious journals, including Nature Materials, Nature Machine Intelligence, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. He is an IEEE Senior Member and has received numerous awards, including the Visiting Professorship from the Institute Jean Lamour at the Université de Lorraine in France, the Lucy G. Moses Lectureship Award at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the NIH Trailblazer Young Investigator Award, the IEEE Outstanding Engineer Award, the Emory School of Medicine Research Award, the Imlay Innovation Award, the American Heart Association Innovative Project Award, the Sensors Young Investigator Award, the Med-X Young Investigator Award, and the Outstanding Service Award from the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, as well as the Outstanding Yonsei Scholar Award. Dr. Yeo is also the founder of two startup companies: Huxley Medical, Inc. and WisMedical, Inc.

Allannah is a Ph.D. candidate in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Allannah’s research focuses on waste heat recovery and water conservation. She is currently developing a system for seasonal thermal energy storage using absorption with upgraded heat delivery for residential and industrial end uses. The system aims to offset the imbalance that exists between energy supply and demand. She is also developing techniques to reuse and reduce energy and water consumption in the highly energy-intensive Aluminum casting industry. Allannah has worked as a summer research intern for the Electricity Supply Board in Ireland to design a district heating system for citizens in fuel poverty.

Allannah earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2022 where she graduated first in her class.

Advisor: Srinivas Garimella