Contact Information

Research Interests

The focus of my doctoral research is on the development of variable stiffness materials, whereby the mechanical properties (mainly stiffness) of the material can be controlled by an external stimulus (thermal, electrical, etc.).  These materials have particular application in the field of morphing structures (ie. morphing aircraft wings, active engine inlets, etc.), where the skins of these structures face conflicting design demands of flexibility for reconfiguration and rigidity for shape fixity.  Although the field of variable stiffness materials is considered to be in its infancy within engineering design, these types of materials are commonly used in nature to deal with the complex and conflicting demands of the environment.  It is believed that by examining these natural materials as engineering materials, general design principles for organismal design can be derived and synthetic analogs for these materials developed.  In this research, I explore two examples in nature of these variable stiffness materials: (1) the mutable connective tissue (MCT) of echinoderms and (2) the human muscle.  We then define the general principle of organismal design governing these materials and develop mechanical models verifying this phenomenon.  It is believed that this organismal design principle can be leveraged in the design of variable stiffness materials for morphing structures.

Publications

Conference Papers

• Wilson, J.,  Rosen, D., 2005, “Design for Rapid Manufacturing under Epistemic Uncertainty,” 10^th Design for Manufacturing Conference, Long Beach, California, ASME, DETC2005-85264

• Wilson, J.,  Rosen, D., 2007, "Systematic Reverse Engineering of Biological Systems," 2007 International Design Engineering Technical Conference, Las Vegas, NV, ASME, DETC2007-35395

Book Chapters

• Wilson, J., Rosen, D., 2005, "Design for Rapid Manufacturing under Epistemic Uncertainty," Rapid Prototyping: Theory and Practice, Springer, 2005, eds.  Kamrani, A. ISBN: 0387232907 

Master of Science Thesis

• Wilson, J., 2005, “Design for Rapid Manufacturing under Epistemic Uncertainty,” Masters Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,GA.

Other Information

Resume

Jamal's Resume (PDF)