Leadership
Bing Brunton is the MURI's Principal Investigator and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on developing data-driven analytic methods that are applied to and inspired by neuroscience questions, including neural-inspired sparse sensing and control for biological and engineered systems. Dr. Brunton's awards include an AFOSR Young Investigator Award, a University of Washington Innovation Award, and a Sloan Research Fellowship. | |
Sarah Bergbreiter is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research uses microsystems, microfabrication, and novel materials as tools to improve robotics, including the development of soft sensors that detect mechanical strain or pressure. Dr. Bergbreiter’s awards include a DARPA Young Faculty Award, an NSF CAREER Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Award. | |
Steve Brunton is the James B. Morrison Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. His research focuses on data-driven dynamical systems in sensorimotor control, with an emphasis on efficient computations, sensor placement optimization, and turbulent fluid flow control. Dr. Brunton's awards include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Award, AFOSR and ARO Young Investigator Awards, and a UW College of Engineering Faculty Award for Teaching. | |
Tom Daniel holds the Komen Endowed Chair in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. His research programs focus on biomechanics and sensory systems, addressing questions about the physics, engineering and neural control of movement in biology. Dr. Daniel’s awards include a MacArthur Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and awards for teaching and mentoring at the University of Washington. | |
Jonathan How is the Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on navigation and control, including adaptive flight control to enable autonomous agile flight, as well as the design and implementation of distributed robust planning algorithms. Dr. How is an IEEE Fellow, an AIAA Fellow, and received the Department of the Air Force Commander's Public Service Award. | |
Nathan Kutz is the Robert Bolles and Yasuko Endo Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington. His research focuses on nonlinear dynamics and dimensionality reduction for applications across the engineering, physical and biological sciences. Dr. Kutz's awards include an NSF CAREER Award and a Boeing Teaching Award from the UW Department of Applied Mathematics. | |
Alison Mehravari is the MURI's Scientific Program Manager, based at the University of Washington. She holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Neuroscience from Middlebury College. In addition to the MURI, Dr. Mehravari manages the operations for the AFOSR Center of Excellence on Nature-Inspired Flight Technologies and Ideas and the UW Center for Translational Muscle Research |
Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
Burak Boyacioglu Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics & Astronautics University of Washington Lab of Kristi Morgansen Research: Observability analysis of systems with neural-inspired sensors and optimal sensor placement |
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Jorge Bustamante Ph.D. Student in Biology University of Washington Lab of Tom Daniel Research: How insects use different body parts for flight maneuverability/control |
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Yogesh Chukewad Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering University of Washington Lab of Sawyer Fuller Research: Design and control of insect-sized robots; control autonomy and sensor fusion |
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Emily Clark Ph.D. Student in Physics University of Washington Labs of Steve Brunton & Nathan Kutz Research: Principled sparse sensor placement |
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Kameron Decker Harris WRF Postdoctoral Fellow, Departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Biology University of Washington Lab of Bing Brunton Research: Networked neural systems & computational science: theory, modeling, and data |
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Tanvi Deora HFSP Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology University of Washington Labs of Tom Daniel & Bing Brunton Research: Neuromechanics of touch in plant-pollinator interaction |
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Charlie Fieseler Ph.D. Student in Physics University of Washington Lab of Nathan Kutz Research: Separation of intrinsic dynamics and controllers in neural systems |
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Maxwell Gray Ph.D. Student in Computer Science & Engineering University of Washington Lab of Bing Brunton Research: Machine learning for neural-inspired control |
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Michelle Hickner Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering University of Washington Labs of Steve Brunton & Bing Brunton Research: Optimal sensor locations and hawkmoth neuronal responses to wing strain |
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Suhan Kim Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering Carnegie Mellon University Lab of Sarah Bergbreiter Research: Sensor fabrication and system development |
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Regan Kubicek Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering Carnegie Mellon University Lab of Sarah Bergbreiter Research: Bio-inspired flexible sensors |
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Thomas Mohren Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering University of Washington Labs of Steve Brunton & Tom Daniel Research: Timing-based sensing and control from insect flight to engineered systems |
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Aditya G. Nair Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Washington Labs of Steve Brunton & Bing Brunton Research: Modeling and control of fluid flows, inference of networks |
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Aleix Paris i Bordas Master’s Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lab of Jonathan How Research: Autonomous flight systems, artificial intelligence |
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Satpreet Singh Ph.D. Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Washington Labs of Bing Brunton & Raj Rao Research: Machine learning, computational neuroscience, biological and artificial intelligence |
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Jordan Snyder Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics University of Washington Labs of Nathan Kutz & Steve Brunton Research: Discovering low-dimensional dynamical systems from data |
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Andrea Tagliabue Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lab of Jonathan How Research: Machine learning, estimation, motion planning for agile robots |
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Olivia Thomas Ph.D. Student in Physics University of Washington Lab of Nathan Kutz Research: Computational neuroscience, bio-inspired artificial networks, and machine learning |
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Abby von Hagel Post-baccalaureate Fellow in Biology University of Washington Lab of Tom Daniel Research: Neurosensory encoding of flight control |
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Ali Weber WRF Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology University of Washington Labs of Tom Daniel & Bing Brunton Research: Neural encoding of wing strain and principles of optimal sensor placement |