Fwd: RI Ph.D. Thesis Defense: Anthony Wertz

[Artur Dubrawski]

A veteran Autonian just about to become a doctor.

Come and witness this magnificent event!

Artur

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Suzanne Muth <lyonsmuth at cmu.edu>
Date: Tue, Jan 21, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Subject: RI Ph.D. Thesis Defense: Anthony Wertz
To: RI People <ri-people at andrew.cmu.edu>


*Date:* 30 January 2025
*Time:* 12:00 p.m. (ET)
*Location:* NSH 3305
*Zoom Link:*
https://cmu.zoom.us/j/95720668348?pwd=zlQghriLapahbjpfpoupIFSNNmkbYu.1
*Type:* Ph.D. Thesis Defense
*Who:* Anthony Wertz
*Title: *Sensorized Soft Materials Systems with Integrated Electronics and
Computing

*Abstract:*

The integration of soft and multifunctional materials in emerging
technologies is becoming more widespread due to their ability to enhance or
improve functionality in ways not possible using typical rigid
alternatives. This trend is evident in various fields. For example,
wearable technologies are increasingly designed using soft materials to
improve modulus compatibility with biological systems and employing
conformable interfaces for electrodes for enhanced signal integrity and
user comfort. Likewise, surgical tools are leveraging soft material systems
to reduce the risk of tissue damage through their inherent compliance. Soft
material systems are also being incorporated into robots to improve safety
in human-robot interactions, as in co-working and assistive applications.

However, the same lack of rigidity and complex constitutive behavior that
make these material systems useful in emerging applications also present
challenges in fully exploiting their capabilities. Soft substrates are
continuously deformable and, without rigid constraints or simplifying
operational assumptions, state inference can be difficult or impossible. In
systems that exploit dynamic material properties, such as those using
shape-memory alloys for actuation or thermoplastic polymers for stiffness
tuning, system behavior is challenging to model from a controls perspective
due to internal states that are difficult or impossible to measure in real
time.

Exploiting these materials effectively requires improved sensor integration
and device co-design. Here I discuss how sensing can be integrated to
harness the inherent functionality of these non-traditional materials while
preserving their novel properties and minimizing unnecessary design
complexity. I first briefly examine integration into existing systems,
highlighting both the potential benefits and challenges of approaching
sensorization in this way. Then I propose a more holistic design approach
that embraces a synergistic relationship between material systems and their
embedded sensors.

*Thesis Committee Members:*
Carmel Majidi, Chair
Oliver Kroemer
Sarah Bergbreiter
Cynthia Hipwell (Texas A&M University)

A draft of the thesis defense document can be found here
<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CHbcnfV7v-XFrW0L715porjhNgD_z1Po?usp=sharing>
.
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