MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 11
NEW FACULTY
Dylan Losey is an assistant professor whose research interests lie at the intersection of human-robot interaction , machine learning , and control theory . Specifically , he creates learning and control algorithms for robots that collaborate with people . These robots personalize their behavior , continually adapting to what the human wants and proactively helping them to achieve their goals . Overall , his research develops robots that understand -- and are understood by -- their human partners , with applications in personal , interactive , and assistive robots .
Dylan was previously a postdoctoral scholar in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University . He received his Ph . D . in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in 2018 , his
M . S . in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in 2016 , and his B . E . in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2014 . During 2017 , Dylan was also a visiting scholar at the University of California , Berkeley . He has been awarded the IEEE / ASME Transactions on Mechatronics Best Paper Award , RSS , CoRL , HRI , and BioRob Best Paper Nominations , the Outstanding Ph . D . Thesis Award from the Rice University Department of Mechanical Engineering , and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship .
Michael Bartlett is an assistant professor whose research approach has been formed by both academic and industry experience . He hopes to have touchpoints with most of the thrust areas in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech .
His most recent appointment was as an assistant professor at Iowa State , where he received the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award and the DARPA Young Faculty award . Additionally , he was honored by the Engineering Student Council with the award of Outstanding Faculty while serving in that post .
Prior to Iowa State , Bartlett was a senior research engineer in the Corporate Research Laboratory of the 3M Corporation . This gave him a foundation in the intersections of engineering and commercial implementation , as well as working with commercialization and production .
Much of the focus in Bartlett ’ s Soft Materials and Structures Lab is on developing soft materials with extraordinary combinations of mechanical and functional properties , including electronics and machines made with liquid metal that can be stretched , bent , and even cut while remaining completely functional . This extends to smart adhesives that release on demand , and materials that sense and adapt their properties and structure to optimize performance .
Bartlett is also a recipient of the Adhesion Society Early Career Scientist Award and a DARPA Director ’ s Fellowship , which expands on his work in multifunctional soft materials paired with technology .