People
Current Members
Robert MacCurdy
Assistant Professor
Robert MacCurdy is an assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder where he leads the Matter Assembly Computation Lab (MACLab). He is developing new tools to automatically design and manufacture robots, and automated methods to study animal behavior in the wild. Rob did his PhD work with Hod Lipson at Cornell University and his postdoctoral work at MIT with Daniela Rus. Funded by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Liebmann Fund fellowship, his doctoral work demonstrated systems capable of automatically assembling functional electromechanical devices, with the goal of printing robots that literally walk out of the printer. During this time he also showed how to create very low-cost, low power, and low-mass radiofrequency tags, and developed an automated tracking system based on time-of-flight measurements. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Ithaca College, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and an M.S. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.
Vidyacharan G. Venkata
Vidyacharan (VC) is a PhD student developing new materials for manufacturing soft robots and devices through multi-material inkjet printing. He works at the intersection of materials science and robotics to push machines towards the next stage of their evolution. He earned his M.S in Mechanical Engineering from CU Boulder in 2018 during which he co-authored multiple papers on HASEL soft actuators. Prior to that, he worked as a researcher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on developing flexible electrochemical sensors for toxic gas detection. He earned his B.Tech in Mechatronics in 2016 from SASTRA University, India.
Charles Wade
Charles works at the intersection of design, fabrication, and automation. Particularly, he is interested in developing novel methods that leverage additive manufacturing technology to automatically construct robotic systems. His current work focuses on a volumetric modeling framework for the design and verification of multi-material 3D-printed robots. Charles earned his B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Toledo in 2021. Before starting a PhD at CU, he was a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. There, he developed software and controls for large-scale 3D-printing systems. In his free time Charles likes hiking, backpacking, and fly fishing. You can often find him wading the nearby mountain streams in search of trout.
James Phillips
James has a background in electrical engineering and embedded systems. His research in Maclab is focused on the RF Biotracking Project. He is currently writing his thesis for his Master's degree in Technology, Cybersecurity, and Policy. In his spare time, James snowboards, runs, travels, and climbs an occasional 14er.
Labib Sharrar
Labib has a background in Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning and Signal Processing. His current projects involves building a building a low-powered RF tracking system to study the movements of small mammals, and constructing a robotic system for autonomous microscopic photography of insect species.
Patrick Cavanaugh
Patrick is a first-year PhD Student interested in using the intersection of additive manufacturing and computational design to fully explore the design space enabled by AM with applications like mass customization and impact-absorbing structures. He's coming from Purdue University with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and previously helped develop Purdue's Sports Engineering program. Patrick competed as a semi-pro triathlete for a short time and currently enjoys all things outside, cooking and looking after his plants.
Aaron Finch
Aaron is a master's student exploring multi-physics simulations to enable the computational design of complex structures for energy absorption. His work aims to facilitate efficient designs through spatially varied topology, materials, and geometry capable of handling a wide range of impact scenarios. Aaron earned his Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2019. In the interim, he served as an engineering officer in the U.S. Army, stationed in Italy. Outside the lab, he enjoys endurance sports, alpinism, rock climbing, and skiing.
Randolph Peterson
Master's Student
Randy is a Master's Thesis student working on automated and characterization testing of Soft Bending Actuators. His work aims to improve both manual and computational design of soft actuators optimized for their intended application. Randy received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University in 2021, and spends his free time reading, cooking, baking, and hiking.
Joey Passarello
Joey is a master's thesis student designing 3D printed metamaterials that mimic the mechanical properties of human tissue. His work will be used to create life-like printed human tissue simulators. Joey received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from UCLA in the spring of 2024, and enjoys a hands-on, iterative approach to solving engineering problems. In his free time, Joey enjoys backpacking, reading, skiing and grilling.
John Stewardson
John obtained his Bachelor of Science in Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. He is interested in interdisciplinary problem solving with a focus on robotics. In his research he is utilizing simulations to automate the design optimization of multimaterial soft robotic grippers, under the guidance of Prof. MacCurdy. In his free time John likes to ski, play volleyball or soccer.
Ted Bruno
Ted is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder. Under the guidance of Dr. MacCurdy in the MacLab, he is conducting research on conductive polymers, focusing on understanding how strain influences electrical resistivity. Outside of his academic pursuits, Ted is an avid skier and climber who spends much of his free time exploring the outdoors.
Andrew Heck
Andrew is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder. Under the guidence of Dr. MacCurdy, his work primarily focuses on multi-phase 3D printing and computational design; specifically, researching optimal designs of fully 3D printable bellows to maximize lifespan and print quality. Outside of the MAClab Andrew is involved with CU’s under water robotics team, Colorado Robosub, and enjoys spending time outside hiking, biking, and climbing.
Julian Hansell
Julian is a first-year undergraduate student majoring in Integrated Design Engineering with an emphasis in Mechanical Engineering. Under the guidance of Dr. MacCurdy and Charles he is researching design improvements for Pneumatic Network soft robotic actuators to increase their resistance to out-of-plane bending. He is also working with the HIRo Group at the University of Colorado Boulder to develop python integration for capacitive robotic skin, giving robots enhanced ability for sensing their surrounding. Outside of the lab Julian enjoys hiking, playing board games, and practicing his welding skills.
Alumni
Brandon Hayes
PhD '25, Postdoctoral Researcher at CU Boulder
Brandon researched additive manufacturing with microfluidics and thermal bubble-driven micro-pumps for lab-on-chip applications. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at CU Boulder with Prof. Nathalie Vriend researching properties of granular flows.
Lawrence Smith
PhD '25, Postdoctoral Researcher at Max Planck Institute
Lawrence on automated design of soft robots and impact absorbing structures using finite element and material point method models. He recently started a postdoctoral researcher position with the Max Plank Institute for Intelligent Systems, where he is continuing work on computational design of soft robots.
Travis Hainsworth
PhD '24, Teaching Professor at Western Colorado University
Travis used additive manufacturing to develop complex soft robot designs and geometries that could only be produced using additive methods. Today, Travis is a teaching professor at Western Colorado University.
Celesse Myles
MS '24
Celesse fabricated and tested soft actuators with the goal of standardizing characterization methods.
Colin Smith
MS '21, Senior Robotics Engineer at UAS Autonomy
Colin researched mechanical design automation using evolutionary algorithms and optimization for multi-material 3D printed soft robots. He is now a Senior Robotics Engineer at UAS Autonomy.
Subhraneel Sarkar
MS '23, Mechanical Engineer at MetOx
Subhraneel studied fabrication and finite element analysis of soft actuators and wrote his thesis on print-in-place pneumatic sensors. He is now a Mechanical Engineer at MetOx working with superconducting systems.
Zach Jordan
MS
Zach researched novel 3D printing methods for robotic fabrication and enjoyed working in multidisciplinary environments.
Sean Connelly
MS '22, Mechanical Design Engineer at Boulder Engineer Studio
Sean developed verification software for volumetric modeling using voxels with an interest in design automation. He became a Mechanical Design Engineer at Boulder Engineer Studio.
Aaditya Pore
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Aaditya worked on developing a pneumatic actuator test bench through the CU SPUR program.
Ashton Croft
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ashton investigated thermal inkjet resistors for use as microfluidic pumps and mixers.
Wangcong Xuan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Wangcong worked on server construction, DNS, and software deployment while also learning MATLAB and full-stack development.
Marcus Tsuei
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Marcus designed storage and recovery systems for 3D printing filament.
James Alex Hale
Undergraduate Research Assistant
James developed and built modular testing fixtures for soft robotic components including hydraulic bellows and ball bearings.
Sebastian Alexander
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sebastian supported research on print-in-place pneumatic actuators and investigated strain gauge materials. He went on to work in commercial product design and is now a mechanical engineer at Roccor.
Lawson Nerenberg
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lawson researched generative design methods using machine learning and hybrid material robotic control.
Xavier Bell
High School Research Assistant
Xavier explored 3D printing and aerospace applications during his time in the lab. He went on to pursue engineering at MIT.
Brady Kopec
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Brady worked on voxelization software to support robotic fabrication research.