Kerr-Jia Lu

EDUCATION

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Aug 1999

National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Jun 1997

EXPERIENCES

Assistant Professor, Sep 2004 - present
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The George Washington University, Washington, DC

• Research interests: compliant mechanisms, shape morphing, biomemetic and bio-inspired engineering, optimization, micro aerial vehicle (MAV) and unmanned underwater vechicle (UUV)
• Course taught: ApSc057 (Statics), ApSc113 (Engineering Analysis I), MAE001 (Introduction to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), MAE190 (Mechanism Design), MAE191 (Mechanical Design), MAE242 (Advanced Mechanisms)

Graduate Student Research Assistant, Jun 1998 - present
Compliant Systems Design Laboratory (CSDL)
Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Focused on the design of shape morphing compliant mechanisms that can enhance the performance and versatility of systems, such as aircraft wings and antenna reflectors
• Developed and implemented a systematic synthesis approach for morphing compliant mechanisms, involving discrete/continuous optimization, finite element analysis, and basic pattern recognition methods
• Developed a novel parameterization scheme using load paths to represent various structural topology and ensure structural connectivity
• Demonstrated the capability of the synthesis approach through compliant mechanism prototypes (created by rapid prototype machine: Stratasys FDM 3000)

Graduate Student Instructor, Jan - Apr 2004
ME452 DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY (a senior level course)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Working with Professor Sridhar Kota
• Class size: 75 on-campus + 40 off-campus students mainly from GM and Ford
• Major course content: Design Principles, Design for Assembly, Material Selection, Robust Design using Taguchi Method

Graduate Student Instructor, Sep - Dec 2000
ME551 MECHANISM DESIGN (a graduate level course)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Worked with Professor Sridhar Kota
• Class size: 50 on-campus + 20 off-campus students from GM and DaimlerChrysler
• Assisted students with term projects, class materials, course software, and homework
• Provided training sessions for course software: Lincages and ADAMS
• Communicated with off-campus students via emails and phone to resolve problems encountered in distance-learning
• Maintained and updated course website

Graduate Student Instructor, Sep - Dec 1999
ME450 DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING III (a senior capstone project course)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Worked with Professor Panos Y. Papalambros and Professor Sridhar Kota
• Created and maintained the course website for a class of 88 students (22 team projects)
• Advised 4 student teams, two of which won the class design competition (2nd and 3rd places) at the design exposition
• Provided guidance on open-ended design projects, which required the integration of multi-disciplinary knowledge in mechanical design

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Professor of the Year (Dept. of MAE), Feb 2005
The Engineers' council, George Washington University

Best Presentation in Design and Manufacturing, Oct 2002
3rd Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Symposium, University of Michigan

Sloan Summer Fellowship, May 1999
University of Michigan and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Top 5% of Class Award, Sep 1995
National Taiwan University

ACTIVITIES

• UM College of Engineering Tech Day 2003, Design Competition Leader, fall 2003
• UM Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Symposium Committee (Design and Manufacturing Session Chair), fall 2003
• UM Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Council, winter 2003 - present
• ASME student member, fall 1999 - present
• Panelist of "The Forgotten Minority," held by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Nu Chapter, Nov 2002
• Panelist of "HOBY East Michigan Seminar," by Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Organization, Jul 1999

PUBLICATIONS

• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Compliant Mechanism Synthesis for Shape-Change Applications: Preliminary Results," Proceedings of the 2002 SPIE Modeling, Signal Processing, and Congrol Conference, San Diego, CA, Vol. 4693, pp. 161-172, March, 2002
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Design of Compliant Mechanisms for Morphing Structural Shapes," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 379-391, 2003
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Synthesis of Shape Morphing Compliant Mechanisms Using Load Path Representation Method," Proceedings of the 2003 SPIE Modeling, Signal Processing, and Contrl Conference, San Diego, CA, Vol. 5049, pp. 336-348, March 2-6, 2003
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Parameterization Strategy for Optimization of Shape Morphing Compliant Mechanisms Using Load Path Representation," ASME DETC, Chicago, IL, DETC2003/DAC-48775, September 2-6, 2003
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Synthesis of Shape Morphing Compliant Mechanisms Using Load Path Representation," ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Washington, D.C., IMECE2003-41813, November 16-21, 2003
• Trease, B.P., Lu, K.J., and Kota, S., "Biomimetic Compliant System for Smart Actuator-Driven Aquatic Propulsion: Preliminary Results," ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Washington, D.C., IMECE2003-41446, November 16-21, 2003
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "An Effective Method of Synthesizing Compliant Adaptive Structures Using Load Path Representation," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 16, pp. 307-317, 2005
• Kota, S., Lu, K.J., Kreiner, Z., Trease, B., Arenas, J., and Geiger, J., "Design and Application of Compliant Mechanisms for Surgical Tools," ASME, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 127(6), pp. 981-989, 2005
• Lu, K.J. and Kota, S., "Topology and Dimensional Synthesis of Compliant Mechanisms Using Discrete Optimization," accepted for publication in ASME Journal of Mechanical Design
• Palmisano, J., Sandberg, W., Ramamurti, R., Lu, K.-J., Cohen, J., and Ratna, B., 2006, “Design of a Biomimetic Controleed-Curvature Robotic Pectoral Fin,” submitted to 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics