Ramezani Receives ASME Rising Star Award

ECE Associate Professor Alireza Ramezani will receive an ASME Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering Award in recognition of his NSF CAREER Award for advancing robotic functionality for small spaces that is inspired by bat movement.
Alireza Ramezani, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering Award, which recognizes early-career researchers who have received prestigious national awards. Ramezani received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award earlier this year for “Dynamic Locomotion With Plasticity for Remote Sensing in Crawlspaces,” research that advances robotic technology for small spaces and is inspired by bats.
The Rising Stars Awards were presented at the International Mechanical Engineering Celebration and Showcase, a reception that included a poster session where researchers presented their work. The celebration was part of the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition.
Ramezani’s research improves upon existing small robot-technology by enabling a device to maneuver through tight crawlspaces and adjust its movement from walking to jumping or flying as needed. As it navigates, it gathers data through sensing equipment.
The robot, which mimics bat movements, can operate in a range of small spaces, including caves, shafts, ducts, ballast tanks, pipes, and grain elevators.
This research has been further recognized with a paper published in the International Journal of Robotics Research, while also appearing in a National Geographic cover story and a Popular Science article.