MIE’s Gina Olson Awarded Seed Grant from the UMass Office of Research Development

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The UMass Amherst Office of Research Development has awarded Assistant Professor Gina Olson of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department one of 12 Faculty Research Grants/Healey Endowment Grants (FRG) for 2024. Olson’s grant of $19,600 will support the development of her proof-of-concept design of a soft robot capable of climbing trees, navigating forest floors, and surveying woodlands to provide up-to-date information on tree health in face of issues such as drought, insect outbreaks, storm damage, invasive species, arboreal diseases, weather emergencies, or wildfires within forestry environments. See https://www.umass.edu/news/article/twelve-umass-research-projects-awarded-2024-faculty-research-grants.

Olson’s groundbreaking robot will be capable of ascending tree bark and roving across forest terrain to gather crucial data on the health of forest trees, thereby addressing the critical issues mentioned above. This novel and intriguing project could significantly upgrade our ability to monitor and protect forest ecosystems.

Under the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, the FRG program explains that it supports projects “with high potential for future publication, the development of creative work, additional funding from outside of the university, or recognition of excellence.”

Olson’s current research interests involve the compliant structures within “soft robots,” meaning robots with physically flexible bodies and electronics. 

In that context, Olson directs the Compliant Robots and Structures Lab, which takes a mechanics-focused approach to the design and analysis of soft robots. Olson says that researchers seek to mimic the compliance which exists within biological creatures and thereby replicate some of the adaptability and robustness of nature. The structure of these soft robots, though, is strikingly different from traditional robotics, necessitating different techniques for design and control.

As Olson explains, “Our research takes the view that the core behavior of these robots, including their abilities and limitations, is driven by their structural mechanics, and that understanding these mechanics will enable rational design of desired behaviors. Our core research mission is to understand how structure creates abilities in soft robots and apply those lessons in developing the next generation of robots.”

Olson’s lab is part of a broader coalition of interconnected robotics labs at UMass Amherst, including the Human Robot Systems Lab, the Mechatronics and Robotics Research Lab, and The Human-Centered Robotics Research Thrust .

Before joining the MIE department, Olson was a postdoctoral-research scientist working with Professor Carmel Majidi’s Soft Machines Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her doctorate in Robotics and Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University, where she was advised by Doctor Yiğit Mengüç and Professor Julie A. Adams. She also earned her M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. 

In addition, Olson had worked as a Technical Lead Engineer at Meggitt Polymers and Composites, where she developed fire seals for aircraft engines at this international aerospace, defense, and energy company. 

According to the FRG, the program encourages proposals for projects involving research, scholarship, or creative works in all disciplines from early-career faculty members initiating new projects and mid-career faculty members in pursuit of new directions. (September 2024)