Suresh G.K. Ananthasuresh

Associate Professor Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics University of Pennsylvania

297 Towne Building, MEAM 220 S. 33rd Street University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6315

Telephone: 215-898-7191 Facsimile: 215-573-6334 Electronic mail: gksuresh@seas.upenn.edu

Academic preparation

• B.Tech., 1989, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai (formerly Madras), India.
• M.S., 1991, The University of Toledo , Toledo, OH, USA,
• Ph.D., 1994, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 1994.
• Post-Doc in Microsystems Technology Laboratory at M.I.T., Cambridge, MA, U.S.A., 1995-96.
• Assistant Professor, MEAM at Penn, 1996-2002, June
• Associate Professor, MEAM at Penn, 2002, July-current
• Affiliated labs at Penn:
  Design and Prototyping Lab (DPL), GRASP Lab and Microfabrication Lab.
• Curriculum Vitae. It is a pdf file created on June 10, 2002.

Research Interests Access my Computation Design RESEARCH web page.

• Compliant Mechanisms
• Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS): design, modeling and microfabrication
• Structural Optimization: topology and shape optimization
• Protein design
• Design-dependent material selection
• Product design (based on compliant design paradigm)
• Geometric modeling of MEMS
• Mechanism Design

Publications

• Publications
• Theses from my group
  1. Ph.D.,2002,"Vision-Based Noninvasive Force sensing and Manipulation of Micro Objects," Xiaoye Wang
  2. Ph.D., 2001,"Electromagnetic pump using low temperature co-fired ceramic tapes and polyimide,"Moon Kim
  3. Ph.D., 2000, "Topology Design of Geometrically Nonlinear Compliant Mechanisms for Flexibility, Stiffness, and Strength," Anupam Saxena.
  4. M.S.,2000, "Modeling of Electro-Thermal-Compliant Micromechanisms," Nilesh Mankame.
  5. M.S., 2000, "Skeletal Shape Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms," Dong Xu.
  6. M.S., 2000, "Design and Microfabrication of Electro-Thermal-Compliant Micro Devices," Tim Moulton.
  7. Ph.D., 1998, "Design and Virtual Prototyping of User-Customized Asstive Devices," Venkat Krovi.

My Research Group Access My Group web page.

Present

1. Nilesh Mankame (Ph.D.)
2. Sung Koh (Ph.D.)
3. Santi Swaroop Adavani (Ph.D.)

Teaching

Graduate Level
• MEAM 535 Advanced Dynamics (Fall 1999)
• MEAM/EE 550 Design and Modeling of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems [MEMS] (Fall 1998, Fall 2001, Spring 2004)
• MEAM 540 Optimal Design of Mechanical Systems (Fall 1997, Fall 2000, Fall 2002)
• MEAM 690 Introduction to Microfabrication and Micromachining (Spring 1998)

Undergraduate Level
• MEAM 310 Design of Mechanical Systems (Spring 1997-2002)
• MEAM 347 Mechanical Engineering Lab II: Labs 1 : Design and Manufacture "Experiment" in single-piece compliant device (Spring 1999-01)
• MEAM 247 Mechanical Engineering Lab I: Labs 1 and 4: Learning CAD/CAM by way of precision flexural devices" (Spring 1999-01)

Professional activities

1. Associate Editor, Journal of Mechanical Design, Transactions of the ASME, 2003-2006.
2. Member of the Mechanisms Commitee of ASME's Design Engineering division (2001-06); Treasurer (2002-present).
3. Participant at the National Science Foundation Workshop on "Manufacturing and MEMS," Orlando, FL, Nov. 7, 2000.
4. Participant at the National Science Foundation Workshop on "Next Generation Human-Assist Devices," Baltimore, MD, Sep. 14, 2000.
5. Chair, Student Mechanism Design Competition, 2000 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences. See the contest web page.
6. Special Session Organizer at the 2000 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Special session on the "Manipulation at Micro Scale using MEMS" as part of the 26th Biennial Mechanisms Conference.
7. Special Session Organizer at the 1998 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Special session on the "Mechanical Design Issues in MEMS" as part of the 25th Biennial Mechanisms Conference.
8. Member of the ad-hoc committee of the Mechanisms Division of the ASME appointed to explore the future directions for research in the mechanisms area (1997-98)
9. Visiting Scholar at The Center for Computational Design, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ., July 1- 31, 1997.
10. Participant at the National Science Foundation Workshop on "Structured Design for MEMS," CalTech, Pasadena, February, 1996.

Last updated on December 20, 2003.

Designed by my post-doc, Dr. Luzhong Yin.

My main interest is developing systematic computational methods for synthesizing the physical form of an elastic body so that it deforms in a prescribed way. The device shown here amplifies input displacement by 50 times and results in a large displacement at the output. As can be seen, the directions of input and output displacements are reversed. Designing for such nonintuitive behvaior is usually a trial-and-error process. We hope to streamline it using topology optimization and other methods. Many variations of this problem exist wherein we synthesize elastic bodies (compliant mechanisms) for flexibility, stiffness, strength, natural frequencies, normal mode shapes, unconventional actuations, multi-material design, embedded objects, etc. And, we use the developed methodologies in a number of applications, including product design and MEMS. We prototype most of the designs given by our systematic algorithms. The size of the prototypes ranges from the large scale to micro scale up to sub-micron (e.g., using focused ion beam).

My first steps in research...

	My first three compliant mechanisms (polyethylene) (with Professor Sridhar Kota)[1992].
	My first compliant micro-mechanism (bulk silicon) (with Yogesh Gianchandani) [1993]
	A single-piece stapler: my first application in compliant mechanisms (with Laxman Saggere) [1994]
	The mechanism I researched in my masters thesis (with Professor Steve Kramer) [1989-90]. It is an RSCR spatial four-bar mechanism.
	The novel "follower" driven cam mechanism with intermittent motion I researched for my undergraduate senior-year project (with Prof. K. Lakshminarayana) [1988-89]
	My first research outside of regular course work and thesis work. Algebraic synthesis of four-bar coupler curves. The curve shown here is a unique coupler curve. [1991-93]