2021 Fellow

Maria Redoutey is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is a member of the Deployable and Reconfigurable Structures Lab (DRSL) led by Prof. Evgueni Filipov. The lab’s research focuses on the mechanics of origami-inspired structures. A fundamental challenge for origami-inspired structures, especially for large-scale applications, is their actuation. Maria’s research responds to this challenge through the creation of computational models and optimization tools for the design of large-scale origami structures with safe, stable, and efficient deployment paths. One objective of these tools is to convert complex but practical origami geometries into zero-stiffness structures, which can reconfigure effortlessly using multi-physical actuators. The tools developed in Maria’s work can be used to translate conceptual designs into real reconfigurable structures for use in fields such as construction, robotics, architecture, and more.