Mee_News_Fall17_final_Dec18

C2_Color: PMS 541 & PMS 131 & BLACK FALL 2017 [ ME FACULTY ] California Fires Wildland Fires Some of these fires are catastrophic with extensive damage to land, property, Professor Fernandez-Pello’s research offers improved tools and lives. Recently, several examples ofC3_Color:PfMoS5r41p&PrMeSd12i4cting and suppressing wildfires these these types of fires have occurred in Northern California; one of them is theME Professor Carlos Fernandez-Pello was awarded the Howard 1991 Oakland Hills fire, where embersEmmons Lectureship prize by the International Association of fire from vegetation and structures causedSafety Science (IAFSS) for his research on the cause and ignition the rapid spread of the fire resulting inof wildfires through sparks and embers. The award included 25 deaths and more than 3,000 homespresenting the Plenary Lecture at this year’s IAFSS symposium burned. Another catastrophic example isand the publication of his review paper, Wildland Fire Spot Ignition this year’s wildfires in Napa and Sonomaby Sparks and Firebrands. Counties with up to 42 deaths and more than 3,000 homes and business destroyed.Fernandez-Pello’s paper by hot metal particles generated by “The fast spreading characteristics of these discusses the prevalence of clashing and arcing powerlines in high fires were due primarily to high winds that wildland and wildland urban winds or are the result of grinding and enhanced the fire spotting of wildland andinterface (WUI) fires and their welding. Power lines, hot work, and structures by firebrands,” says Fernandez-effects on safety, air quality, and the equipment cause approximately 28,000 Pello. “Improving the predictive capabilitiesecosystem as well as buildings and wildland fires annually in the United of landscape-scale wildland fire spreadinfrastructure. Spot fire ignition by hot States. Once started, these wildfires models, together with updated informationmetal fragments and/or sparks and spread rapidly through ember spotting, about weather and topography, wouldfirebrands is a prevalent fire ignition where pieces of burning material provide land managers and governmentpathway by which wildfires, WUI such as branches, bark, or building agencies with better tools to createfires, and fires in industrial settings materials are lofted by fire plumes preventive measures before a fire and and transported by wind and continue to allocate suppression resources and propagate and spread. burning and igniting areas upon carry out effective evacuation Many wildfires landing, often far ahead of the fire front. procedures during a fire.” are startedFirebrands Spotting “The fast spreading characteristics of these fires were due primarily to high winds that enhanced the fire spotting of wildland and structures by firebrands.” – ME Professor Carlos Fernandez-Pello

[ ME STUDENTS ] PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTOPHER DAILY-DIAMONDCalSol’s Zephyr wins [ ME FACULTY & STUDENTS ]the 2017 FormulaSun Grand Prix Untied and ViralFROM THE CALSOL BLOG, JULY 9, 2017: A shoelace study becomes an internet most-read sensation“After 3 days, 228 laps and775 miles drive, CalSol has When ME Professor Oliver O’Reilly’s then four-year-old daughteremerged First in the Formula Sun asked why shoelaces come untied, he didn’t realize tenGrand Prix 2017! This is the best years later that the research on the subject he and MEresult that Zephyr has achieved during graduate students Christopher Daily-Diamond (Ph.D. ’17)her 4 years of racing (2014 – 2017). and Christine Gregg (M.S. ’15) conducted would end up onAside from winning FSGP, Zephyr has BBC.com’s most-read list.also broken several COTA trackrecords, including most number of In 2014, the three hit Cal’s phenomenon was explained throughlaps in a day (82). As a team, CalSol Recreational Sports Facility and, physics and math. In March 2017, Thealso won the Best Teamwork for using a high-speed camera, filmed Royal Society published the study andoutstanding performance as a team. Gregg’s shoelaces gradually coming put the still images of Gregg’s treadmillThis race also represents a validation untied as she ran on a treadmill. The video on the journal’s cover. The storyof the effort and passion put into team found that a runner’s foot hits the went viral and publications includingCalSol by the team members. With ground at seven times the force of BBC News, The New York Times,that being said, we would not be gravity resulting in the shoelace knot NBC News, Nature, and The Dailywhere we are without the immense stretching and relaxing in response to Mail featured the study. Radio and TVhelp of our sponsors and the school. the force. When the knot loosens, the interviews followed.These amazing results would not have inertial force of the swinging leg on thebeen possible without such help!” ends of the laces leads to its untying How can untied shoelaces be only a few steps after the inertia starts prevented? After years of research and TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CalSol, to act. “To untie my knots, I pull on the some viral fame, Daily-Diamond says, visit www.calsol.berkeley.edu free end and it comes undone. The ‘If you’re really worried about your shoelace knot comes untied due to shoelace coming untied, wear loafers.”CalSol’s Zephyr the same sort of motion, the inertial force of the leg swinging back and TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 2 Mechanical Engineering forth,” said Gregg. the shoelace study, visit www.me. berkeley.edu/about/news/me- More surprising than the secret life graduate-students-team-oreilly- of shoelaces was the response to the lab-test-their-shoe-string-theory study. After three years of research and rigorous experimental trials, the

[ ME FACULTY ] [ STUDENT PROFILES ]Designing for the Human Body Meet ME Ph.D. CoupleBY PATRICK SAVIDGE Rachael Hager and David Fernández-GutiérrezIn her course, Designing for the Human Body, ME ProfessorGrace O’Connell instructs students using both mechanical Rachael Hager joinedengineering and biomedical theory and challenges them to UC Berkeley in 2012design products that interact with the body. after completing her M.S. degree at theDuring the Fall 2017 semester, 3D printed prosthetic hand PHOTO CREDIT: NOAH BERGER University of Hawaii- the class partnered ten teams Manoa and her B.S. of four to five students with PHOTO CREDIT: GRACE O’CONNELL degree at the Univer- mentors from local and sity of Wisconsin-international companies as well as Chelsey Campillo Rodriquez showcases a Madison. In 2014,nonprofit organizations, including motorized 3D printed prosthetic hand to she began workingEnable and Claws for Carter. Many of Professor O’Connell with ME Professorthe projects were aimed at developing teams developing a modified crutch that Savas on particle-low cost, 3D printable prosthetics allows patients with spinal cord injuries laden flows. At Cal, Hager teaches forfor children. to improve stability while walking with the ME Department and for the Students crutches by providing tactile feedback. for Environmental Energy Development A focus on biomechanics, combined (SEED) program.with a hands-on approach to prototyping O’Connell says the success ofand testing, allowed students with the class was evident from student Hager studies the effects of isotropic,various educational backgrounds, feedback. “Many said what they valued homogenous turbulence on droplet forma-including engineering, biomedical, and most was the experience of working with tion in clouds—in particular, investigatingcognitive science, to creatively adapt a client and incorporating the client’s the growth of the droplet size spectrumunique solutions. Cal alum Dennis Chan wishes into their team’s designs.” and droplet concentrations within variousprovided funding to allow students turbulence levels. She is currently analyz-to experience and learn from rapid FOR MORE INFORMATION ing the clustering and void structures aris-prototyping using equipment available please contact Professor O’Connell ing in particle-laden turbulent flows andin Jacobs Hall. Chan also played an at [email protected] how these are related to the vorticity field.important role as a mentor for two of the Besides teaching, Hager’s favorite part of“Many said what they Berkeley has been the people. She met hervalued most was the husband, David Fernández-Gutiérrez, whileexperience of working attending ocean engineering classes.with a client andincorporating the Fernández-Gutiérrez obtained hisclient’s wishes into degree in Naval Architecture and Marinetheir team’s designs.” Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid, Spain. After working in industry, he joined UC Berkeley in 2012 to continue his studies in Professor Ronald Yeung’s lab. He is working towards his Ph.D., under the supervision of Professor Tarek. I. Zohdi in the Computational Manufacturing and Materials Lab (CMMRL). Everything related to the ocean has been a constant driving force for Fernández- Gutiérrez, even though he’s prone to seasickness. His research involves modeling numerically multiple physical phenomena, generally related to fluids, to be able to extract engineering conclusions. His Ph.D. focus is developing a new numerical scheme combining Smoothed Particle Hydrodynam- ics (SPH) with Voronoi diagrams to solve for the flow around immersed moving objects close to free surfaces. Fernández-Gutiérrez loves Berkeley’s great weather, and, like Hager, enjoys the people he’s met at Cal. He adds, “I couldn’t be more thankful for having found such wonderful people here, and look very much forward to keep in touch with all of them!” Mechanical Engineering 3

[ ME FACULTY ] Advanced robotics manufacturingProfessor Alice AgoginoWins 2017 ASME PHOTO CREDIT: ICAPLANTSDesign Theory andMethodology Award [ ME FACULTY ]ME PROFESSOR Alice Agogino Tarek Zohdi: Manufacturing, received the American Society of Robotics, and Fire Mitigation Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2017 Design Theory and Methods Award, ME Professor Tarek Zohdi has held a variety of titles, including Chair which recognizes “sustained and of UC Berkeley’s Engineering Science Program, Chair of the UC meritorious contributions to research; Berkeley Designated Emphasis in Computational and Data Science education; service; training of and Engineering, Vice Chair of Instruction in the Mechanical researchers or practitioners; overall Engineering Department, Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, leadership in advancing the field; and Adjunct Scientist at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California. or any combination of these in the In 2017, Zohdi received the University’s Distinguished Teaching field of Design Theory and Methodol- Award. His research interests are also varied and include smart ogy.” Agogino dedicated the award manufacturing, robotics, and fire hazard mitigation. to the BEST Labbers—her lab’s (Berkeley Energy and Sustainability In June 2016, Present Obama an- ogy between academic and industry to Technologies) researchers. nounced the creation of the $140 mil- accelerate the adoption of new technolo- lion Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing gies. “We work in tandem with small andAlice Agogino and BEST Labbers, from left Innovation Institute (CESMII), part of the medium-sized enterprises, as well as largeto right: Euiyoung Kim, Chengwei Zhang, Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition companies, to develop best practices forMark Fuge, Jon Cagan, and Julia Kramer. in partnership with the U.S. Department of integrating new technologies into industry,” Energy. As Director of the Northern Califor- says Zohdi. nia Regional Manufacturing Demonstra- tion Center, Zohdi’s objective is to advance Professor Zohdi is also the Principal the United States’ competitive edge in Investigator of the Advanced Robotics manufacturing by adopting innovative Manufacturing (ARM) Innovation Hub, technologies, including advanced sensors, awarded by the Department of Defense in data analytics, and digital controls. The January 2017. The ARM Institute’s aim is to Center examines the transfer of technol- better position the United States in manu- facturing relative to global competition by “U.S. industries stand to make the greatest gains by understanding and adopting the latest tools and processes in robotically enabled systems.” – ME Professor Tarek Zohdi4 Mechanical Engineering

creating and deploying robotic technology [ ME FACULTY ]to create a more robust system. Zohdi,Director of the Northern California Regional Introducing ME ProfessorsRobotics and Manufacturing Center, saysthe Berkeley team’s contributions will PROFESSOR Somayeh PROFESSOR Koushilcenter on advanced manufacturing, com-putational mechanics, robotics, and control Sojoudi joined the Sreenath joined thesystems. The Berkeley team’s particularinterests are hybrid robotics—creating one ME faculty in ME faculty inrobotic system that combines disparatetechniques like chemical vapor deposi- 2017 and is also 2017. His researchtion, laser processing, and 3D printing intoone system—­ and co-robotics —enabling an Electrical interest lies at therobots to work in tandem with humans. Engineering and intersection of “U.S. industries stand to make thegreatest gains by understanding and Computer Sciences highly dynamicadopting the latest tools and processesin robotically enabled systems,” says faculty member. robotics andZohdi. “We want to develop the laboratoryand computational tools that allow Professor Somayeh She received her Professor Koushil applied nonlinearmanufacturers to produce superior Sojoudi Strrnathproducts, even the most complex, at Ph.D. degree in control. He receivedlower operational costs.” Professor Zohdi Control & a Ph.D. degree inis joined by Ruzena Bajcsy (EECS), AncaDragan (EECS), Ken Golberg (IEOR and Dynamical Systems from California Electrical Engineering and ComputerEECS), Roberto Horowitz (ME), MasayoshiTomizuka (ME), Shankar Sastry (EECS, Institute of Technology in 2013. She was Science and an M.S. degree in AppliedME, BioE), and Paul Wright (ME). an Assistant Research Scientist at New Mathematics from the University of Zohdi and K.M. Mosalam’s article onfire hazard mitigation, Fire Prediction, York University School of Medicine in Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI., in 2011. HeResponse, and Suppression in the 21stCentury, published on the Pacific Earth- 2013-2015, where she worked on the was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the GRASPquake Engineering Research Center’swebsite, discusses contributing factors and design of data-driven methods for Lab at University of Pennsylvania (2011proposed solutions to the present andfuture threat of fires in California. Recom- modeling human brain networks. Sojoudi – 2013) and an Assistant Professor atmended strategies to detect and preventwildfires that burn, on average, 4.3 million is an associate editor of the journals of Carnegie Mellon University (2013 – 2017.)acres in the U.S. annually, include con-trolled burns and a combination of detec- Systems & Control Letters and IEEE Feedback Control andtion systems to enhance drone monitoring. Robotic Performance Transactions on Smart Grid. She is alsoManufacturing Hubs: The vision of his research group is to a member of the conference editorial employ feedback control to ascribe high-http://engineering.berkeley.edu/2016/06/ performance features seen in biologi-california-new-headquarters-smart- board of the IEEE Control Systems cal systems, such as speed, efficiency,manufacturing-institute maneuverability, and agility to robots. A Society. She is a recipient of the 2015 central research goal is to enable dynamichttp://www.me.berkeley.edu/about/news/ robotic systems to achieve extreme per-president-obama-announces-winner-new- INFORMS Optimization Society Prize for formance by operating at the limits ofsmart-manufacturing-innovation-institute- their capabilities, requiring being at thecompetition Young Researchers and a recipient of the boundaries of input, state, and safety-crit- ical constraints. However, it’s precisely athttp://www.me.berkeley.edu/about/news/dod- 2016 INFORMS ENRE Energy Best these high-performance regimes that theannounces-award-new-advanced-robotics- dynamical models and sensor measure-manufacturing-arm-innovation-hub Publication Award. She is also a co-author ments are imprecise, making constraint enforcement challenging. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT of a best student paper award finalist for the simulation developed by Zohdi, A representative project in this regard is visit http://www.me.berkeley.edu/ the 53rd IEEE Conference on Decision geared towards enabling legged robots to about/news/wake-northern-california- walk on discrete terrain such as stepping fires-me-professor-tarek-i-zohdi- and Control 2014. stones. This requires precise foot place- looks-fire-hazard-mitigation. ments while walking fast. Humans are able Power Grids, Control Theory, to do this really well­—hopping from one Robotics stepping stone to another. Making legged robots achieve a similar feat requires a While pursuing her Ph.D., Sojoudi careful study of dynamics and balance as worked on the analysis and control of well as strict enforcement of safety-critical complex dynamical systems, such as constraints needed to achieve precise foot communication networks, cardiovascular placements. One wrong step could be the systems, power grids and brain net- end of the mission. Applications of this works. In particular, her work on power technology could be extended to navigat- systems dealt with the design of efficient ing rough terrain for disaster response and computational methods for the operation exploration missions. of nationwide power systems, where a one-percent improvement in the solution Berkeley has always been a world-leader amounts to saving over a billion dollars in in controls research and Sreenath feels it’s the U.S. annually. Her collaborative work a great privilege and honor to be able to be received a significant amount of attention part of this exciting group. His hope is to from the Federal Energy Regulatory Com- apply formal control methods to create the mission and the power industry. Her more next generation of robots at Berkeley. recent work has been focused on several interdisciplinary problems in optimization theory, control theory, machine learning, and data analytics. Two of her projects revolve around the design of scalable algorithms for nonconvex optimization problems and the development of ef- ficient statistical learning methods for learning models from data with applica- tions to transportations and robotics. Mechanical Engineering 5

[ ME FACULTY ] NOAH BERGER What is your most memorable competition experience?Andy Packard: Professor andLog Rolling Competitor P: In 2014, I was 52 and competing at the Minnesota Lake Festival. IIn political terms, log rolling refers to exchanging favors through beat a 22-year old in the finals and,reciprocal voting. However, log rolling is better known as a sport after announcing my victory, thewhere two competitors on a free-floating log use a variety of announcer added, “I love it whentechniques to make their opponent fall off. We spoke with ME the old guy wins.”Professor Andrew Packard, a log rolling enthusiast, to learnmore about the sport and how he integrates his experiences What’s different about competing as an adult?as a competitor into his curriculum. P: As a kid, I would get nervousHow long have you competed stopped competing. Then, in 2012, competing in front of an audience.in log rolling? a long-time friend and colleague After years of teaching, which bought a cabin in Minnesota and involves interacting with many peoplePACKARD: I grew up in Des Plaines, a said, “I bought a log for the cabin,” and being the center of attention, Isuburb of Chicago. The YMCA in Des and I started practicing and no longer feel self-conscious and amPlaines offered skateboarding, rock competing again. a more focused competitor.climbing, and log rolling. We practicedon a 400 lb. Western Red Cedar log. What has changed in the sport? How do you incorporate log rollingThese are the ideal logs to use because in your teaching curriculum?they’re the right density to float high P: Key Log Rolling, a company inin the water and, because it’s a softer Minnesota, created synthetic logs, P: I’ve created assignments thatwood, the splinters are not sharp. Later, which had a big impact on the sport. are based on the sport. Studentsa friend and I bought a log that our Instead of towing a 400 lb. log, a 60 have created sensors to track whatparents drove around on a trailer so we lb. synthetic log fits on the roof of a car kind of workout someone rolling acould practice. like a kayak. When the baffles are filled log is getting, and, for a controls- with water, it matches the specs of the based assignment, we created Every summer we competed traditional 13’ cedar log. two robot-like competitors andat the annual Lumberjack World created algorithms to study balanceChampionships in Hayward, Wisconsin. The family-based company is also problems.My parents or friends’ parents would promoting intercollegiate competi-take us and we’d camp for a week tions. In 2017, competitions were Based on your experience as bothduring the competitions that included held at the University of Maryland, a log rolling competitor and asawing, chopping, and climbing. the University of Missouri, and UC professor, what advice can you offer Santa Barbara. They hope to make graduating students facing a highly At 25, when I was a grad student at log rolling an Olympic sport. competitive job market?Cal, I didn’t go home every summer, so I P: Stay dry.Professor Packard practicing andenjoying the solitude of Pinecrest LakePHOTO CREDIT: JOHANNA SEDMAN6 Mechanical Engineering

ME Faculty Awards 2017 MAKE A GIFT TODAYProfessor Alice Agogino | 2017 ASME David A. DornfeldDesign Theory and Methodology Award Fellowship and ScholarshipAssociate Professor Reza Alam | Excel-lence in the Instruction of Graduate-Level In addition to the David A. Dornfeld Fellowship established in 2016 by PaulCourses Award (a part of the department’s Sheng, ME alumnus Frank Nguyen has established the David A. Dornfeldfirst annual “ME Excellence in Teaching & Scholarship this year to support ME undergraduate students. Nguyen didMentoring Awards”) undergraduate research for Dornfeld, who also acted as Nguyen’s advisor. To continue Dave Dornfeld’s legacy at Berkeley and his impact on current and futureProfessor Francesco Borrelli | 2017 IEEE ME students, we invite you to support the fellowship or the scholarship by makingTransactions on Automation Science andEngineering Best Paper Award a gift today at give.berkeley.edu (enter “Dornfeld” in the search window).Associate Professor Chris Dames | [ OBITUARY ] Marshall Wells Academic Chair (sinceExcellence in the Instruction of Undergrad- 1997), and as director of the university’suate-Level Courses Award (a part of the J. Karl Hedrick Partners for Advanced Transit and Highwaysdepartment’s first annual “ME Excellence Research Center (1997–2003), whichin Teaching & Mentoring Awards”) professor, transportation conducts research in advanced vehicle expert, college leader control systems, advanced traffic manage-Adjunct Professor David Horsley | ment and information systems, andAlexander Schwarzkopf Prize for Techno- 1944-2017 technology leading to an automated highwaylogical Innovation (awarded by the National system. He was also the director ofScience Foundation [NSF]’s J. Karl Hedrick Berkeley’s Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory,Industry/University Cooperative Research was best known as well as a co-director of the HyundaiCenters Program [I/UCRC]) for the develop- Center of Excellence in Active Safety and ment of nonlinear Autonomous Systems.Assistant Professor Mark Mueller | control theory and itsABB Research Award 2017 applications to trans- Hedrick was a member of the National portation, including Academy of Engineering, the Society of Auto-Assistant Professor Grace O’Connell | 2017- automated highway motive Engineers, and the American Institute2018 Signatures Innovation Fellowship systems, power train of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was also(awarded by UC Berkeley) controls, embedded a fellow of the American Society of Mechani- software design, cal Engineers (ASME), and past chair of theProfessor Boris Rubinsky | Medal of the formation flight of autonomous vehicles, Dynamic Systems and Control Division andRomanian Academy of Technical Science and active suspension systems. Hedrick also its Honors Committee.(also received an Honorary Membership) made important contributions to nonlinear estimation and control. Other honors include the Outstanding Pa-Professor Lydia Sohn | (Inducted into the) Hedrick received his bachelor’s degree in per Award from the Institute of Electrical andAmerican Institute for Medical and Biologi- engineering mechanics at the University of Electronics Engineers, 1998; the Americancal Engineering’s College of Fellows Michigan in 1966. He earned his master’s Automatic Control Council’s O. Hugo Schuck and his doctoral degrees in aeronautical and Best Paper Award, 2003; the ASME DivisionProfessor David Steigmann | 2017 Acta astronautical engineering at Stanford Univer- of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, andMechanica Sinica Best Paper Award sity in 1970 and 1971, respectively. Control’s Outstanding Investigator Award, From 1974 to 1988, Hedrick was a 2002; and the ASME Journal of DynamicProfessor Andrew Szeri | Excellence in professor of mechanical engineering at Systems, Measurement, and Control BestStudent Mentoring Award (a part of the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Paper award in 1983 and 2001. Hedrickdepartment’s first annual “ME Excellence where he directed the Vehicle Dynamics received ASME’s 2006 Rufus Oldenburgerin Teaching & Mentoring Awards”) Laboratory. He then joined the Department Medal, which recognizes significant contribu- of Mechanical Engineering at the University tions and outstanding achievements in theProfessor Tarek Zohdi | 2017 Distinguished of California, Berkeley, in 1988, where he field of automatic control. He delivered theTeaching Award (awarded by UC Berkeley) taught graduate and undergraduate courses ASME Nyquist Lecture in 2009. in automatic control theory.Other While at Berkeley, Hedrick served as the He has written two books and published chair of the Department of Mechanical more than 140 peer-reviewed archivalProfessor Alice Agogino & Engineering (1999–2004), the James publications. Spanning his career at ArizonaAssistant Professor Grace O’Connell | State, MIT and Berkeley, Hedrick has gradu-CITRIS and the Banatao Institute’s 2017 ated over 70 Ph.D. students.Core Seed FundingProfessor Xiang Zhang appointed toUniversity of Hong Kong | ME ProfessorXiang Zhang has been appointed the 16thPresident and Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Hong Kong for a five-year term.To read the official announcement, visitwww.hku.hk/press/news_detail_17263.html. Mechanical Engineering 7

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID University of California C2_Color: PMS 541 & PMS 131 & BLACK University of California Department of Mechanical Engineering 6141 Etcheverry Hall, MC #1740 Berkeley, CA 94720-1740 C3_Color: PMS 541 & PMS 124 METo Support meVISIT .berkeley.edu a GCiEfhntogtooinsMeeee“rcMinhagakn.”eicalPEG SKORPINSKI [ FROM THE CHAIR ] and Manufacturing Center, Tarek’s work focuses Contributors on the transfer of technology from academia to W E L C O M E T O the 2017 industry and the addition of robotic technology Department Chair: Mechanical Engineering to manufacturing. Roberto Horowitz Alumni newsletter. This year saw the passing of Professor Karl Hedrick, In other news, read how Professor Oliver Managing Editor: who joined the ME faculty in 1988 O’Reilly and his graduate students’ research on Panos Papadopoulos and acted as Department Chair from untied shoelaces went viral and how Professor 1999-2004. Karl was best known Grace O’Connell’s students improved prosthetics by Creative Director/Editor for his work in nonlinear control employing a hands-on approach to prototyping and Marcel Kristel theory and its applications. He was working directly with clients. And Professor Andrew ([email protected]) popular with his peers and students Packard answers all your questions on log rolling. and his kind smile and cheerfulness Editor-in-Chief: will be missed in Etcheverry Hall. This year also saw Professor Alice Agogino win Emily Higgins We welcome two new faculty members this the ASME Design Theory and Methodology Award ([email protected]) year: Somayeh Sojoudi and Koushil Sreenath. Pro- and the CalSol team’s car, Zephyr, win the Formula fessor Sojoudi will focus on machine learning and Sun Grand Prix. Contributors: interdisciplinary problems in optimization theory Patrick Savidge while Professor Sreenath will focus on controls Finally, read about Rachel Hager and David research, including enabling dynamic robotic Fernandez Gutierrez, married and both pursuing Proofreader: systems to achieve optimal performance. Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering. Melissa Varian California has been severely affected by fire this year, and Professor Carlos Fernandez-Pello’s We look forward to hearing from you in 2018. Design: research on the causes and ignition of wildfires Please keep in touch via our Facebook page (www. Cuttriss & Hambleton, Berkeley through sparks and embers provides a means for facebook.com/Berkeley.Mechanical.Engineering). better preventive measures and for more effective Printing: suppression. Professor Tarek Zohdi’s research Go Bears! UCSF Documents, involves fire hazard mitigation as well as manufac- Media & Mail, San Francisco turing and robotics. As Director of both the Northern Roberto Horowitz California Regional Manufacturing Demonstration Chair, Mechanical Engineering and Images: Center and the Northern California Regional Robotics James Fife Endowed Chair Noah Berger, Christopher Daily-Diamond, Professor of Mechanical Engineering ICAPLANTS, Grace O’Connell, Johanna Sedman, Peg Skorpinski