Jonathan Hopkins

Abstract: In this seminar a variety of mechanical systems will be presented that physically embody intelligence via the deformation of constituent compliant elements. So long as their elements do not yield, these systems, called compliant mechano-intelligent systems, achieve high repeatability, experience no backlash, avoid friction and hysteresis, produce no wear or particulates, and can be fabricated on the micro-scale. Consequently, they can be made to learn behaviors or perform complex computations with sufficient precision, accuracy, and speed in a small enough volume to enable artificial-intelligent metamaterials. Specifically, this seminar will review the concept of mechanical neural networks (MNNs) as architected materials that autonomously learn their behaviors and properties with increased exposure to unanticipated ambient loading conditions. Like how artificial neural networks (ANNs) learn by tuning their scalar weights to map know input and output data, MNNs are physical versions of ANNs in that they learn by tuning the stiffness of their constituent beams to map known input and output forces and displacements. This seminar will also introduce and compare both digital and analog approaches for computing mathematical operations in harsh environments where electronics would fail. Such environments include: radiation-rich, extreme temperature, chemically corrosive, large magnetic field, excessively dusty, highly statically charged, or other environments that experience large fluctuations in ambient conditions or surges in electricity. The digital approach leverages flexure-based bi-stable memory bits and logic gates joined together to perform calculations using discrete states of deformation, while the analog approach uses a single one-piece structure that deforms according to continuous input displacements. 

Bio: Jonathan Hopkins is a full professor and Vice-chair for Graduate Affairs in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the director of the Flexible Research Group and conducts research toward enabling the design and fabrication of flexible structures, mechanisms, and materials that achieve extraordinary capabilities via the deformation of their constituent compliant elements. Prior to coming to UCLA, Jonathan was a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and received his Ph.D., master’s, and bachelor’s degrees all in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Jonathan also received ASME's prestigious Freudenstein/General Motors Young Investigator Award, UCLA's Watanabe Excellence in Research Award, the Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award, and is an ASME Fellow. Jonathan is the creator and host of the educational YouTube channel, "The FACTs of Mechanical Design.