Speaker Profile

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT Professor Anette (Peko) Hosoi is faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She is the founder and director of STE@M (Sports Technology and Education @ MIT) which is dedicatedto building an interconnected community of faculty, students, industry partners, and athletes who are passionate about tackling challenges that lie at the intersection of engineering and sports. The program carries forward the mission of the previous incarnation ( Sports Innovation @ MIT )through linking the expertise of MIT faculty; the unparalleled resources of MIT's facilities; the passion of MIT students; and the needs, experience and insight of industry partners. Prof. Hosoi's research contributions lie at the juncture of nonlinear hydrodynamics, microfluidics and bio-inspired design. She is a world leader in the study of the hydrodynamics of thin fluid films and in the nonlinear physical interaction of viscous fluids and deformable interfaces. A common theme in her work is the fundamental study of shape, kinematic and rheological optimization of biological fluid systems for locomotion and their application to the emergent field of "soft robotics". A unique mixture of experimental work, numerical simulation and theoretical analysis characterizes her work, and it combines elements of both engineering design and mathematical optimization. Her work is widely known and internationally respected by physicists, biologists, roboticists and applied mathematicians, as well as engineers, and is used to guide the engineering design of robotic swimmers, crawlers, burrowers and other mechanisms. She is also an exceptional and innovative teacher, an inspiring mentor and an outstanding communicator of science in general. She has been awarded both the Junior Bose and Bose award for her teaching excellence in the School of Engineering; she was elected a MacVicar Fellow and most recently won our Department's coveted Den Hartog Award for Teaching Excellence. Professor Hosoi is a member of the Defense Science Study Group and was recently elected to Fellowship in the American Physical Society. When she is not in lab, she can be found at Highland Mountain Bike Park on her downhill rig, or on the couch monitoring her Fantasy Football team.