日韩无码

Laura Treers

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

PRONOUNS she/her

laura.treers@uvm.edu
Laura Treers
laura.treers@uvm.edu
Pronouns she/her
Alma mater(s)
  • PhD Mechanical Engineering, 2023, UC Berkeley
  • BS Mechanical Engineering, 2018, MIT
Affiliated Department(s)
  • 日韩无码 CREATE Center (Center for Resilient Energy & Autonomous Technologies in Engineering)
  • Professional Societies:
  • American Physical Society (APS)
  • IEEE Robotics & Automation Society (RAS)

BIO

Laura Treers joined the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 日韩无码 in August 2024. Dr. Treers received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 2023, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2018. From 2023-2024, she was a postdoctoral scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology in the Schools of Physics and Biological Sciences. Her graduate research focused on improving robotic mobility in complex environments such as granular media, through the design of novel mechanisms and modeling techniques. Her postdoctoral work was focused on collective behavior in both robotic and biological systems, specifically exploring the manipulation of cohesive granular materials.

At 日韩无码, her lab continues to work on research ideas at the intersection of robotics, physics, and comparative biomechanics. The Interact Lab at 日韩无码 (INnovation in Terramechanics, Experimental Robotics, And Complex Terrains) is focused on improving robotic capability in natural terrains, with key interests in: 1) modeling of interaction forces in complex materials like granular media and entangled matter 2) design of novel mechanisms for operation in messy, granular environments and 3) using both biological systems, as well as robotic prototypes, as tools to better understand principles of complex locomotion, ie 鈥渞obophysics鈥-based approaches.

Laura is passionate about advancing equity in undergraduate education, as well as STEM outreach for underrepresented groups. She has mentored at several science camps for middle school girls, is an active mentor and coach for FIRST robotics programs, and feels strongly about helping students from all backgrounds and walks of life feel like they belong in the sciences.

Courses

ME 3320A (Control Systems), ME2990 (Mechatronics)

Publications

Awards and Achievements

  • 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California
  • 2019 National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Office of Naval Research
  • 2018 UC Berkeley Presidential Fellowship, University of California
  • 2018 Thomas Sheridan Prize for Creativity in Man鈥慚achine Integration, MIT

Area(s) of expertise

Robotic locomotion in complex terrains, physics of granular materials, robophysics, organismal biomechanics, collective behavior, field robotics, mechanism design

Bio

Laura Treers joined the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 日韩无码 in August 2024. Dr. Treers received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 2023, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2018. From 2023-2024, she was a postdoctoral scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology in the Schools of Physics and Biological Sciences. Her graduate research focused on improving robotic mobility in complex environments such as granular media, through the design of novel mechanisms and modeling techniques. Her postdoctoral work was focused on collective behavior in both robotic and biological systems, specifically exploring the manipulation of cohesive granular materials.

At 日韩无码, her lab continues to work on research ideas at the intersection of robotics, physics, and comparative biomechanics. The Interact Lab at 日韩无码 (INnovation in Terramechanics, Experimental Robotics, And Complex Terrains) is focused on improving robotic capability in natural terrains, with key interests in: 1) modeling of interaction forces in complex materials like granular media and entangled matter 2) design of novel mechanisms for operation in messy, granular environments and 3) using both biological systems, as well as robotic prototypes, as tools to better understand principles of complex locomotion, ie 鈥渞obophysics鈥-based approaches.

Laura is passionate about advancing equity in undergraduate education, as well as STEM outreach for underrepresented groups. She has mentored at several science camps for middle school girls, is an active mentor and coach for FIRST robotics programs, and feels strongly about helping students from all backgrounds and walks of life feel like they belong in the sciences.

Courses

ME 3320A (Control Systems), ME2990 (Mechatronics)

Publications

Awards and Achievements

  • 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California
  • 2019 National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Office of Naval Research
  • 2018 UC Berkeley Presidential Fellowship, University of California
  • 2018 Thomas Sheridan Prize for Creativity in Man鈥慚achine Integration, MIT

Areas of Expertise

Robotic locomotion in complex terrains, physics of granular materials, robophysics, organismal biomechanics, collective behavior, field robotics, mechanism design

Selected Publications

  • S. Kim, L. K. Treers, T. Myung Huh, H. S. Stuart, 鈥淓fficient Reciprocating Burrowing with Anisotropic Origami Feet鈥. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Vol 10, p. 1214160, 2023
  • L. K. Treers, B. McInroe, R. J. Full, H. S. Stuart, 鈥淢ole crab鈥慽nspired vertical self鈥慴urrowing鈥. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, p. 263, 2022
  • J. J. Page, L. K. Treers, S. J. Jorgensen, R. S. Fearing, H. S. Stuart, 鈥漈he Robustness of Tether Friction in Non鈥慽dealized Terrains鈥, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol 8 (1), p. 424鈥431, 2022
  • A. Martinez, J. DeJong, I. Akin, A. Aleali, C. Arson, J. Atkinson, P. Bandini, T. Baser, R. Borela, R. Boulanger, M. Burrall, Y. Chen, C. Collins, D. Cortes, S. Dai, T. DeJong, E. Del Dottore, K. Dorgan, R. Fragaszy, J. D. Frost, R. Full, M. Ghayoomi, D. I. Goldman, N. Gravish, I. L. Guzman, J. Hambleton, E. Hawkes, M. Helms, D. Hu, L. Huang, S. Huang, C. Hunt, D. Irschick, H. Thomas Lin, B. Lingwall, A. Marr, B. Mazzolai, B. McInroe, T. Murthy, K. O鈥橦ara, M. Porter, S. Sadek, M. Sanchez, C. Santamarina, L. Shao, J. Sharp, H. Stuart, H. H. Stutz, A. Summers, J. Tao, M. Tolley, L. K. Treers, K. Turnbull, R. Valdes, L. van Paassen, G. Viggiani, D. Wilson, W. Wu, X. Yu, and J. Zheng, 鈥淏io鈥慽nspired geotechnical engineering: Principles, current work, opportunities and challenges.鈥 Geotechnique, Vol. 72 (8) p. 687鈥705, 2022.
  • L. K. Treers, C. Cao, H. S. Stuart, 鈥淕ranular Resistive Force Theory Implementation for Three鈥慏imensional Trajectories.鈥 IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol 6 (2), p. 1887鈥1894, 2021
  • L. K. Treers, R. Lo, M. Cheung, A. Guy, J. Guggenheim, F. Parietti, and H. Asada, 鈥淒esign and Control of Lightweight Supernumerary Robotic Limbs for Sitting/Standing Assistance.鈥 International Symposium for Experimental Robotics, 2016.

    A full list of publications can be found on .