Principal Investigator
Xiaolong Liu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Director, the CRM Laboratory
Email: xiaolong.liu@ttu.edu
Phone: (806) 834-2598
Office: ME North 207
Lab: ME North 148
Faculty Profile Google Scholar
Dr. Xiaolong Liu is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University, with his PhD obtained in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He previously worked at the Johns Hopkins University as a Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Laboratory of Computational Sensing and Robotics. Dr. Liu has served as a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several research projects funded by organizations such as National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Health (NIH), American Heart Association (AHA), and Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), and has published 40+ peer-reviewed papers in IEEE, ASME, and BMES journals and conferences. His research has received recognition such as the Maryland Innovation Initiative Award and Best Paper Runner-up Award in Robotics, etc. Dr. Liu has served on NSF panels, program committees, editorial boards of multiple IEEE conferences in robotics and automation.
PhD Students
Zhaoda Du (9/2023 – present)
MS in Robotics, University of Sheffield, UK (2019-2020)
BS in Automotive Engineering, University of Coventry, UK (2015-2019)
Previous position: Algorithm Engineer, EDAN Instruments, Inc., China (2021-2023)
Email: zhadu@ttu.edu
Research topic: programmable soft robots
Short Bio: Zhaoda Du received his Master’s degree in Robotics from the University of Sheffield, UK, and his Bachelor’s degree in Automotive Engineering from the University of Coventry, UK. Before joining Texas Tech, he worked as an Algorithm Engineer at EDAN Instruments, Inc., where he developed AI and image processing techniques for ultrasound systems. He was also a Software and Algorithm Engineer at United Imaging Healthcare, Inc., where he developed methods for MRI image registration. Additionally, he served as a visiting researcher at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUST) in China, where he worked on super-resolution image reconstruction and rapid microscopy image stitching. He won the second place in the IMechE Formula Student AI Competition at the University of Coventry. His current research focus is on programmable soft robots and their translational applications in the medical field.
Arjun Sharma (1/2024 – present)
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi UAE (2014-2017)
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, India (2009-2013)
Previous position: Research Engineer, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi UAE (2018-2023)
Short Bio: He graduated with M.S. and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Khalifa University, UAE, and RGPV, India respectively. He has more than 5 years of professional experience in research and development. He has a research interest in mechatronics and robotic system design, integration, and testing. Also, he received training in Space Robotics at JPL NASA, USA. Before joining Texas Tech, he worked as a Research Engineer at the Autonomous Vehicle Lab at Khalifa University, where he worked on mechanisms and autonomous vehicles. Arjun has led the development of a user-interactive smart environment for autonomous vehicles and won 2nd prize of $100,000 at the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport 2023. In 2021, he developed intelligent loading and unloading mechanisms for multi-parcel delivery robots and won 1st prize of $100,000 at the Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport. In addition, he has experience working at the S2TS Lab for an advanced micro-channel heat exchanger at the University of Maryland College Park, USA.
Undergraduate Researchers
Evan Watts (10/2023 – present), Presidential Merit Scholar
BS in Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University (2020-present)
Research topic: Electromagnetic System Design
Short Bio: Evan Watts is a senior undergraduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University. He is also pursuing a Master’s degree in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with hopes to complete his graduate studies in the field of soft robotics with an emphasis on magnetic actuation. Evan spent time in the Combustion Laboratory at Texas Tech, assisting with research in energetic materials, nano-aluminum thermites, and obscurants. Following his time in the Combustion Lab, he spent the summer testing explosives and developing novel thermite mixtures with Energetic Materials & Products, Inc. With experience in a wide variety of engineering disciplines, Evan is determined to contribute to the advancement of what is possible in soft robotics.
Andrew Slezak (1/2024 – present), Presidential Merit Scholar, TrUE Scholar
BS in Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University (2020-present)
Research topic: Magnetic Soft Robot Design
Short Bio: Andrew Slezak is a Senior Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate in the Whitacre college of engineering at Texas Tech University. He previously worked for Dr. Burak Aksak in the Bio-inspired Mechanics and Systems Lab for 2 years and coauthored two papers on fingerprint effect piezoelectric sensors. Additionally, he has worked with Sandia National Labs at the NOMAD research institute where he studied and modeled compliant high energy dynamic systems and developed new analysis tools. He will be continuing his collaboration with Sandia at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology in the summer of 2024. He is principally interested in researching Bio-inspired mechanisms at the micro and nanoscale as well as soft robotics. He intends to pursue a PhD starting in spring 2025.
Jeff Kwok (1/2024 – present), Presidential Merit Scholar
BS in Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University (2021-present)
Research topic: Robotic Manipulation
Short Bio: Jeff Kwok is an Junior Undergraduate at Texas Tech majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Math. He has previously worked with Arduino projects, similar scale robotics and has placed second in TTU Robotic-Wars competition. He is continuously developing personal projects dealing with human-movement mimicry via bot-arm replication and is interested in the mechatronic healthcare field.