Dr. Cynthia Hipwell
Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr. '45 Chair II Professor
INVENT Lab Principal Investigator
Dr. Hipwell is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas (TAMEST). Her research interests include nanoscale energy transport and tribology of small-scale devices; surface physics in and sensors and actuators for haptic and human/machine interfaces; and innovation business processes, technology and technology platforms to speed the innovation process.
Dr. Chris Seets
Professor of Practice
INVENT Lab Associate Director
Dr. Seets is a Professor of Practice in Mechanical Engineering and a Texas A&M former student, receiving his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in ’91. Prior to joining the INVENT lab in 2020, he accumulated 22+ years of wafer fabrication experience in an industrial setting. In addition to building nano-scale devices, he is interested in helping others learn to manage, improve, and accelerate the innovation business process.
Dr. Heng Pan
Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor
Multiscale Manufacturing Lab Principal Investigator
Dr. Pan is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining Texas A&M, he was an Associate Professor at Missouri S&T. He received his Ph.D at University of California - Berkeley. Dr. Pan’s research interests include additive manufacturing of electronics and energy devices, micro/nanomanufacturing, and semiconductor manufacturing. Dr. Pan’s awards include NSF CAREER Award and ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award.
Dr. Shoufeng Lan
Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor
LAN Lab Principal Investigator
Dr. Lan is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Before joining the Texas A&M, he worked as a postdoc fellow advised by Prof. Xiang Zhang at the University of California, Berkeley, and received his Ph.D. degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Lan’s research focuses on light-matter interactions in natural and engineered materials for bringing optical solutions to the real world. For his work, Dr. Lan has received multiple national and international awards.
Dr. Rebecca Friesen
Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Professor
Friesen Lab Principal Investigator
Dr. Friesen joined Texas A&M as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering in 2022. Previously, she worked as a postdoc in the Cognitive Robotics Department at Delft University of Technology and received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the actuation and perception of broadband tactile cues for enhanced interactions with haptic displays and virtual reality. She is particularly interested in leveraging our understanding of human somatosensation for efficient haptic signal representation and design.
Dr. Aditya Kuchibhotla
TEES Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Kuchibhotla joined INVENT lab in 2020. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2019 and his B.Tech. from National Institute of Technology, Warangal in 2013. Dr. Kuchibhotla’s research interests lie in the areas of Micro/Nano Heat Transfer, Thermal Energy Storage, and Thermo-fluidics, Thermoelectric and photonic systems.
Xinyi Li
Ph.D Candidate
Xinyi joined INVENT Lab in 2018 after receiving her dual bachelor's degree in Physics from Wuhan University and in Mechanics from Claude Bernard University. Currently, she is working on the tribology characterization of the fingertip and haptic device's surface. Xinyi loves traveling, rock bands, Impressionism, and her cat "Pangpang"!
Changhyun Choi
Ph.D Candidate
Changhyun joined INVENT Lab in 2019 after receiving his B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering from Hanyang University. His research is focused on the contact mechanics between the fingertip and various substrates and skin surface characterization under different conditions. Changyun's goal is to make a big impact in the field of biotribology. Changhyun is enjoying his life with his wife and their two dogs.
Sitangshu Chatterjee
Ph.D. Student
Sitangshu joined INVENT Lab in 2018 after receiving his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering with a first-class distinction from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur. His undergraduate research focused on soft robotics and their application in biomimetic, surgical and rehabilitation devices. Sitangshu's current research focuses on tribology instrumentation and force microscopy in the piconewton scales.
Carla Bassil
Masters Student
Carla joined the INVENT lab in 2021. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2022. Her previous work focused on using flexible electronics as a tool for thermal data acquisition over the skin. Carla’s current research focuses on how mechanoreceptors in the skin can be influenced by different materials
Luke Batteas
Undergraduate Researcher
Luke joined INVENT Lab in 2020 as a freshman general engineering major from College Station, Texas. He plans to get his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and pursue a career in aerospace. Luke has a background in robotics and is currently a member of the Texas A&M RoboMasters team.
Dakota Simpson
Undergraduate Researcher
Dakota joined INVENT Lab in 2020 as an Undergraduate Researcher. He is currently pursuing an Engineering degree at Texas A&M University. Dakota is currently on a team researching the application of tunable thermal materials.
Akash Anilkumar, MSc Student
Current position :
Mechanical Engineer at Lam Research
Dr. Ali Masoudi, Research Engineer III
Current position :
Senior R&D Engineer at Katz Water Technologies
Bailee Johnson, Undergraduate Researcher
Dr. Yuan MA , Postdoctoral Researcher
Current position:
Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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Edward Swart, Undergraduate Researcher
Dr. Xuezhi Ma, Postdoctoral Researcher
Current position :
Scientist at Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Sneha Sequeira, Undergraduate Researcher
Mr. Holly Frost