Ruben Gameros

Ruben is a third-year undergraduate Aerospace major from Arizona State University.  He is conducting research on flying snake aerodynamics for the summer, primarily working in the AEThER lab.

Hodjat Pendar

Hodjat is a PhD student in Engineering Science and Mechanics, studying insect biomechanics.

Lewis Cox

Lewis finished his masters degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics in Spring 2011, studying the mechanics of collapsible tracheal tubes in carabid beetles. Lewis also earned his BS in ESM.

Jake Socha, PI

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech.  I am also a member of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, an adjunct of VT’s Department of Biological Sciences, a member of VT’s Integrative Organismal Biology group, and a member of Virginia Tech’s NSF MultiSTEPS IGERT team.

                           Download CV (pdf)

Farid Jafari

Farid is a PhD candidate in Engineering Science and Mechanics, studying flying snakes.  Farid earned his bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology.   Personal web page

Becky Zapata

Becky is a third-year undergraduate Engineering Science and Mechanics major, working on 3D analyses of insect tracheal systems.

Elan Dalton

Elan is a PhD student in Biological Sciences, studying insect biomechanics.  He is also a member of the NSF MultiSTEPS IGERT program.  Elan has a masters from the Applied Neuromechanics Lab at the University of Florida. 

Carolyn Roberts

Carolyn is a second-year undergraduate in Engineering Science and Mechanics.  She has worked on various projects, first on flying snake skin mechanics, and currently on the dynamics of butterfly drinking.

Logan Miller

Logan is a second-year undergraduate in Engineering Science and Mechanics, making 3D models of insect morphology and assisting with other projects in the lab.

Sam Hochgraf

Sam is a third-year undergraduate Engineering Science and Mechanics major.  He’s sorting out complex patterns of tracheal collapse in beetles.

Matt Giarra

Matt is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, studying the fluid mechanics of circulation in insects.  Matt’s primary home is the AEThER lab, and is co-advised with Dr. Pavlos Vlachos of ME.

Rod La Foy

Rod is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, working on new methods to measure three-dimensional flows.  Rod’s primary home is the AEThER lab, and is co-advised with Dr. Pavlos Vlachos of ME. Rod is an inaugural member of the NSF MultiSTEPS IGERT program.

Danielle Beringer

Danielle is a masters student in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, and a recent graduate of Engineering Science and Mechanics.  She is conducting experiments to determine the collapse properties of excised insect tracheal tubes.