Tensegrity Lab
Tensegrity Lab seeks to develop new analytical tools to merge structure and control design with material science to create new structures and material systems. The structural paradigm for this research is tensegrity systems, creating minimal mass systems that allow minimal control energy within the constraints of allowable computational and sensing/actuating resources. The lab builds physical demonstrations of this integrated system design philosophy with material science to create new material systems. Robots are designed to deploy from small stowed packages. Robots are designed to harvest rocks and regolith from asteroids or the moon. Tensegrity structures are designed for deployment in space. Tensegrity Robots are designed to build tensegrity structures in space autonomously. Wings are designed without hinged surfaces to controllable shapes. Antennas are designed for deployment in space within operational accuracies. Impact tensegrity structures are designed to protect payloads at the impact on the moon or Mars. These studies employ data-based as well as model-based control methods.
Please get in touch with me directly if you are keen on tensegrity and require assistance. I am willing to offer guidance and support within my capabilities.
Work Experience
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Univerisity of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Assistant Professor, Aug. 2023 - Present
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M Univerisity, College Station, TX
Postdoctoral Researcher, May 2021 - July 2023 (Advisor: Dr. Robert Skelton)
National Instruments Corporation Assistant Application Engineer & LabVIEW Club President at HUST, July 2013 - Jan. 2015
Education
Texas A&M University, College Station, Sept. 2016 - May 2021
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering. Advisors: Drs. Robert Skelton and Manoranjan Majji
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Sept. 2009 - June 2016
M.S., Design and Manufacture of Ships and Marine Structures, 2016
B.S., Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering / Minor: English, 2013
Contact
Email: muhaochen@uky.edu
Tel: +1 979-985-8285 Grehan 113A, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506