• PhD 2001 – Cornell University
• BTech 1995 – Indian Institute of Technology

Ravi’s research interests lie at the interface of chemical physics and molecular biology. His lab’s goal is to provide atomic and molecular level characterization of complex biomolecular systems and formulate quantitatively accurate microscopic models for predicting the interactions of various therapeutic agents with innate biochemical signaling mechanisms. To do so, they employ several computational algorithms ranging from techniques to treat electronic structure, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulations, stochastic kinetic equations, and complex systems analyses in conjunction with the theoretical formalisms of statistical and quantum mechanics, and high performance computing in massively parallel architectures.

Office Location: PICS Suite 522
Email
Phone: 215-898-0487
Website

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Toronto, 1975. Dissertation title:  “Temporal Scene Analysis: Conceptual Descriptions of Object Movements.”
• MSc. in Mathematics, University of Toronto, 1971.
• BA (with highest honors) in College of Creative Studies, emphasis in Mathematics; University of California, Santa Barbara, 1966-1970.

Norman I. Badler is the Rachleff Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his BA in Creative Studies Mathematics from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1970, his MSc in Mathematics from the University of Toronto in 1971, and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto in 1975. He served as the Senior Co-Editor for the Journal Graphical Models for 20 years and presently serves on the Editorial Boards of several other Journals including Presence. His research involves developing software to acquire, simulate, animate and control 3D computer graphics human body, face, gesture, locomotion, and manual task motions, both individually and for heterogeneous groups. He has supervised or co-supervised 62 PhD students, many of whom have become academics or researchers in the movie visual effects and game industries. He is the founding Director of the SIG Center for Computer Graphics, the Center for Human Modeling and Simulation, and the ViDi Center for Digital Visualization at Penn. He has served Penn as Chair of the Computer & Information Science Department (1990-94) and as the Associate Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (2001-05).

Office Location: Levine 304
Email
Phone: 215-898-5862

• PhD Engineering 1978 – Harvard University
• MS Applied Mechanics 1975 – Lehigh University
• BS Mechanical Engineering 1973 – Lehigh University

John applies his expertise in atomic-level properties of continuum mechanics in order to model mechanical and mechano-chemical behavior of nano-structured materials. His research group explores concepts to control the formation of patterned nanostructures in the solid state and investigates the interplay between mechanics and adhesion, with applications to MEMS/NEMS devices and living cells. John has developed models for elastic and inelastic behavior, and failure at the nanoscale, including interfaces and other complex defects in crystalline materials and thin films.

Email

• PhD Computer Science 2018 – University of California, Los Angeles
• MS Aeronautics & Astronautics 2014 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• BTech Aerospace Engineering 2010 – Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Pratik brings his passion for machine learning, robotics and computer vision to the forefront of his research. He hopes to bring the dream of cybernetics closer to reality, with an emphasis on Embodied Intelligence. The ability to perceive and control the environment is the hallmark of such intelligence and their interplay is at the core of his research. In a nutshell, he would like to build embodied autonomous agents that are intelligent not just in the sense of a chess-playing program but also intelligent in the sense of a dog. Much of Pratik’s focus is on applications in home robotics, personal healthcare and autonomous driving.

Office Location: Levine Hall 470
Email
Phone: 215-898-5814

• PhD Microbiology & Immunology 2014 – University Of British Columbia
• MSc Biotechnology 2009 – University Of Leon
• BSc Biotechnology 2009 – University of Leon

Cesar seeks to harness computational power to find molecules with antibacterial activity. He uses synthetic biology and computational tools to determine features contributing to this activity and trains computers to find— or design— candidate molecules and tweak their structures virtually. For example, Cesar worked with a team to train a computer to execute a fitness function that selects structures that interact with bacterial membranes, thus converting several HDPs into the first artificial antimicrobials that kill bacteria both in vitro and in animals. By investigating these exciting possibilities, Cesar aims to build machine-made antibiotics to combat infectious diseases and develop clinical applications for autonomously generated synthetic molecules. Cesar believes that computer-made drugs may help to replenish our arsenal of effective drugs and outpace the evolution of antibiotic resistance.

Office Location: Robert Wood Johnson Pavilion, Room 303C 
Email
@delafuenteupenn
Phone: 215-746-6083

• PhD Chemical Engineering 1987 – University of Pennsylvania
• MSE Chemical Engineering 1985 – University of Pennsylvania
• BSE Chemical Engineering 1982 – Princeton University

Dan applies his research in nanometric soft matter to his studies in biology. Working with colleagues, he has forged polymersomes, membranes made of block copolymers, which are soft, vesicle-like nanoparticles for drug delivery and imaging. Dan has also developed a simulation method of adhesion of receptor-coated nanoparticles to surfaces. The method, Brownian Adhesive Dynamics, once applied to viral binding to cell surfaces, is now being used to understand selectivity and targeting in biological applications of nanoparticles. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia, having served as President for four years (2014-2017). ECA provides community-based energy efficiency services and assistance to low-income families throughout Philadelphia, the poorest of the ten largest cities in the United States.

Office Location: Towne 374
Email
@ProfDAHammer
Phone: 215-573-6761

• PhD Aerospace Engineering 1992 – University of Minnesota
• MS Mechanics 1986 – Xian Jiaotong University in China
• BS Mechanical Engineering 1982 – Zhejiang University in China

Howard’s expertise is in computational fluid dynamics. His research focus is on modeling complex flows involving multiphase and polymeric fluids, particularly flows with solid particles, liquid drops, and gas bubbles. His group has been developing numerical techniques for simulating motions of large numbers of particles in those multiphase systems. They are engaged in understanding and controlling the particulate flows in various microfluidic applications through electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis.

Office Location: Towne 241
Email
Phone: 215-898-8504

• PhD Chemical Engineering 1998 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• BSE Chemical Engineering 1991 – University of Pennsylvania
• BA Chemistry 1991 – University of Pennsylvania

Talid’s research program is broadly aimed at the theoretical and computational study of nano and microstructural evolution, particularly nucleation and growth, in condensed matter. He is currently pursuing microdefect formation in crystalline semiconductors, colloidal crystallization of micron-scale particles with tunable interactions, and platelet aggregation in blood. Talid’s lab has developed an extensive suite of simulation tools for studying these phenomena, including large-scale molecular dynamics, multiscale kinetic Monte Carlo, and continuum models.

Office Location: PICS
Email Talid
Phone:215-898-2511