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ESE Ph.D. Thesis Defense: “Mobile Mission Planning in Uncertain Environments”

Berger Auditorium (Room 13), Skirkanich Hall 210 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Robotic mission planning in uncertain environments remains a formidable challenge due to environmental complexity and sensor noise. This dissertation introduces new methodologies to tackle these issues. We develop a method for Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) planning, extending it to completely unknown environments to enable dynamic understanding and task fulfillment. Large language models (LLMs) are also […]

ESE Seminar: “Fluorite and Wurtzite Structure Ferroelectrics. From Fundamentals to Semiconductor Applications”

Glandt Forum, Singh Center for Nanotechnology 3205 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Ferroelectric properties were initially discovered in perovskite-structured materials over a century ago. However, it was only in the last two decades that these properties were confirmed in fluorite-structured doped HfO2 and wurtzite-structured AlN films, respectively. The ferroelectricity in doped HfO2 or ZrO2 has been attributed to a previously unknown non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic Pca21 phase, while it […]

Summer 2024 GRASP on Robotics: Sami Atiya, ABB Ltd., “The Evolution of Robotics/AI: an Industry Perspective”

Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

This seminar will be held in-person in Wu and Chen as well as virtually via Zoom. ABSTRACT Since its inception, Robotics has constantly used technological developments to address new customer needs. These developments have occurred in two areas: mechatronics and software & control. Mechatronic advances made robots stronger, faster, and more accurate. In parallel, software […]

MSE Thesis Defense: “Alloy Anodes for Alkali-Metal Batteries: Elucidating Lithiation Pathways of Metal/Metal Composites and Solid Solution Alloys Using Novel Nanoporous Tri-Layer Metal/Metal/Metal Composites”

LRSM Reading Room 3231 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA, United States

The pressing issues of global warming and the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves have prompted both private and governmental organizations to seek clean, renewable energy alternatives. Solar and wind energy have been extensively researched, leading to significantly reduced costs for energy production. However, to address the intermittent nature of these energy sources, reliable methods […]

MEAM Seminar: “Macroscopic Ensemble Methods for Robot Team Data Collection in Dynamic Environments”

Room 337, Towne Building 220 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Data is necessary to improve our understanding of dynamic environments, like the ocean. With limited sensing resources, the challenge lies in identifying and acquiring sensor measurements over large spatial and temporal scales. One solution is to use a team of robots equipped with sensors to collect data. However, robot teams still require methods that effectively […]

MSE Thesis Defense: “High-Resolution Characterization of Solid-Liquid Interfaces in Energy Storage Materials Using Microscopy: From Lithium Metal Anodes to Liquid Sodium-Potassium”

LRSM Reading Room 3231 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA, United States

Battery technologies are crucial for reducing greenhouse gases by enabling the use of renewable energy and facilitating the transition to electric vehicles, thereby lowering emissions. Lithium metal anodes are ideal for next-generation batteries in automotive applications due to their high energy density. However, issues such as dendrite formation and solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) affect their […]

MEAM Seminar: “Fingertip Friction, Materials, and Tactile Perception”

Room 337, Towne Building 220 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Sliding touch is one of the key inputs for the perception of materials in our environment. We are interested in the contribution of fingertip friction to the process of tactile exploration and perception. Psychophysical studies address correlations between subjective judgements of perception and measured physical parameters of interactions, in our case of friction on materials […]

CBE Doctoral Dissertation Defense: “Metal Oxides and Ion-Modification: A Study in Chemical Stability, Transformations, and Dynamics” (Bader A. Alayyoub)

Raisler Lounge (Room 225), Towne Building 220 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Abstract: Metal oxides, both simple and complex, are essential for catalysis and energy conversion due to their versatile physicochemical properties and are often enhanced through ion doping, a well-established strategy to improve their functionality. However, challenges remain, particularly in accurately characterizing the surface stability of such oxides beyond idealized conditions and in understanding the thermodynamics […]

MEAM Seminar: “Metallivore Robots Powered by Aluminum-air Batteries”

Room 337, Towne Building 220 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Mobile robots have shown significant advancements in agility, intelligence, and efficiency over the past few decades. However, their endurance and overall performance remain limited by the onboard power supplies. Current power sources typically restrict mobile robots to areas close to the electrical grid and necessitate heavier batteries for extended range. Energy refueling could be significantly […]

CBE Doctoral Dissertation Defense: “Path-Sampling and Machine Learning for Rare Abnormal Safety and Reliability Events” (Vikram Sudarshan)

Towne 336 220 S 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Abstract: It is crucial for chemical and manufacturing industries to ensure safe and reliable operation of their plants and processes, by mitigating safety issues (e.g., extreme operating conditions) and reliability issues (e.g., production losses). But, a significant challenge faced by these industries is that such events are rare and undesirable, with little occurrence data available […]