Dr. Paris R. vonLockette
My work lies in the topical area of electromagnetically sensitive polymer composites and their applications, tying macroscale performance to its basis in fabrication / processing methods and solid-state physics. Succinctly put, my work lies at the intersection of classical electromechanics and the nonlinear mechanics of active materials. My long-term goal is to uncover and exploit multiscale mechanisms of transduction between elastic strain energy and electromagnetic energy for an array of applications. Given the increased usage of electromagnetic fields as the mechanisms that drive and power engineering solutions, these applications have ranged from cardiac assist devices and integrated structural health monitoring; to soft-robotic actuators and magnetic separation techniques that support next generation cancer therapies. To these ends, the work of my group in the Magneto-Active Composites and Structures (MACS) Laboratory, has been equal parts applications- and science-driven experimentation; polymer processing, fabrication, and analytical characterization; classical electromechanics and nonlinear solid mechanics theories; and computational multiphyiscs simulation and nonlinear optimization.
