Surface force-mediated adhesion, e.g. van der Waals forces, is critical for direct bonding of bulk solids in the absence of an adhesive layer. However, no two surfaces are ideally flat or perfectly conformal due to surface roughness or intentional patterning. When in the adhered state, non-zero surface tractions arise wherever the local separation of the […]

Precipitation-strengthened alloys are a commercially important class of materials because their mechanical properties can be altered by changing the microstructure through heat-treatment. Specifically, precipitates are introduced into the bulk (matrix) material to interact with dislocations and affect their mobility. It is known that the size, shape, orientation and stiffness of the precipitates, which can be […]

Nature provides countless examples of the use of heterogeneity to enhance the failure properties of materials. Many biological materials, such as bone, marine shells, and fish scales, are extremely resilient to fracture and failure. These often consist of regions that are highly mineralized and stiff and regions of biopolymers that are extremely soft. In practice, […]

In many cases, the size and weight of energy storage technologies required to power robotic systems are too large or massive for a robot to carry, leading to limited operational times and long recharging times over which the robot remains unused. Computer-free autonomous decision making based on environmental cues provides exciting alternatives to classic control […]