About
David Melancon is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Polytechnique Montreal. He is the co-director of the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics (LM2), and his research interests are mainly related to the embodiment of physical intelligence in highly deformable structures. This means integrating complex and multiple functionalities in engineering systems (e.g., actuation, sensing, and control) by exploiting non-linear, geometry-driven phenomena found when inflating, folding, cutting, and shaping matter. He develops theoretical, numerical, and experimental tools to tune and apply these phenomena in the fields of (1) origami and kirigami inspired deployable structures, (2) instability-driven soft robots, and (3) 3d-printed mechanical metamaterials. |
Diplomas
2022/5 PhD, Applied Mathematics, Harvard University, Supervisor: Katia Bertoldi, 2017/8 – 2022/5;
2020/3 MSc, Applied Mathematics Harvard University, Supervisor: Katia Bertoldi, 2017/8 – 2020/3;
2017/10 MEng, Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Supervisor: Damiano Pasini, 2015/8 – 2017/10;
2015/6 B. Eng., Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal
Research Category
Multi-stable structures
Expertise
Solid mechanics, finite element methods, elasticity, multifunctional structures, origami&kirigami, soft robotics, mechanical metamaterials.