Larry Howell

Biography

Howell joined the Brigham Young University faculty in 1994 and served as Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 2001 to 2007. Prior to joining BYU, he was a Visiting Professor at Purdue University, a Finite-Element Analyst for Engineering Methods, Inc., and he was an engineer on the design of the YF-22, the first prototype of the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor. His patents and technical publications focus on compliant mechanisms, and his research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, NASA, Department of Defense, and industry. He is the author of the book Compliant Mechanisms, which is available in English and Chinese.

Dr. Howell is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Past Chair of the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Committee, and a past Associate Editor for the Journal of Mechanical Design. His research has been recognized by the BYU Maeser Research Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Theodore von Kármán Fellowship, and the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, the 2015 "Vizzies" Overall People's Choice Award, and the ASME Machine Design Award, among others.

Dr. Howell is originally from Portage, a small city in northern Utah with a 2000 census population of 257 people. As a young man, he served as an LDS missionary in Finland.

Books

Howell, L.L., Compliant Mechanisms, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 2001.

Chinese Translation of Compliant Mechanisms published (under agreement with Wiley), by Higher Education Press, an official publisher of the State Education Department of China. Translator: Professor Yue-Qing Yu.

Howell, Larry L., Spencer P. Magleby, and Brian M. Olsen, eds. Handbook of compliant mechanisms. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Selected Articles

Merriam, E.G., Jones, J.E., Magleby, S.P., and Howell, L.L., “Monolithic 2 DOF Fully Compliant Space Pointing Mechanism,” Mechanical Sciences, doi:10.5194/ms-4-381-2013, V. 4, pp. 381–390, 2013.

Zirbel, S.A., Stolworthy, D.K., Howell, L.L., and Bowden, A.E., “Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Alters Lumbar Spine Segmental Stiffness in All Modes of Loading under a Compressive Follower Load,” The Spine Journal, Vol. 13, pp. 1134–1147, DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2013.02.010, 2013.

Bowen, L.A., Grames, C.L., Magleby, S.P., Lang, R.J., Howell, L.L., “An Approach for Understanding Action Origami as Kinematic Mechanisms,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135, paper no. 111008, DOI: 10.1115/1.4025379, 2013.

Zirbel, S.A., Lang, R.J., Magleby, S.P., Thomson, M.W., Sigel, D.A., Walkemeyer, P.E., Trease, B.P., Howell, L.L., “Accommodating Thickness in Origami-Based Deployable Arrays,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135, paper no. 111005, DOI: 10.1115/1.4025372, 2013.

Halverson, P.A., Bowden, A.E., Howell, L.L., “A Compliant Mechanism Approach to Achieving Specific Quality of Motion in a Lumbar Total Disc Replacement,” International Journal of Spine Surgery, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsp.2012.02.002, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 78–86, 2012.

Aten, Q.T., Jensen, B.D., Tamowski, S., Wilson, A.M., Howell, L.L., Burnett, S.H., “Nanoinjection: Pronuclear DNA Delivery using a Charged Lance,” Transgenic Research, DOI 10.1007/s11248-012-9610-6, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 1279–1290, 2012.

Greenberg, H.C., Gong, M.L., Howell, L.L., and Magleby, S.P., “Identifying Links Between Origami and Compliant Mechanisms,” Mechanical Sciences, doi:10.5194/ms-2-217-2011, Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 217–225, 2011.

Fowler, R.M., Howell, L.L., Magleby, S.P., “Compliant Space Mechanisms: A New Frontier for Compliant Mechanisms,” doi:10.5194/ms-2-205-2011, Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 205–215, 2011.

Hubbard, N.B., Culpepper, M.L., and Howell, L.L., “Actuators for Micropositioners and Nanopositioners,” ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews, Vol. 59, No. 6, pp. 324–334, 2006.

Lott, C.D., McLain, T.W., Harb, J.N., and Howell, L.L., “Modeling the Thermal Behavior of a Surface-micromachined Linear-displacement Thermomechanical Microactuator,” Sensors & Actuators: A. Physical, Vol. 101, Nos. 1-2, pp. 239–250, 2002.

Harb, J.N., LaFollette, R.M., Selfridge, R.H., and Howell, L.L., “Microbatteries for Self-Sustained Hybrid Micropower Supplies,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 104, No. 1, pp. 46–51, 2002.

Jensen, B.D., Howell, L.L., and Salmon, L.G., “Design of Two-Link, In-Plane, Bistable Compliant Micro-Mechanisms,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Trans. ASME, Vol. 121, No. 3, pp. 416–423, 1999.

Howell, L.L. and Midha, A., “Parametric Deflection Approximations for End-Loaded, Large-Deflection Beams in Compliant Mechanisms,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Trans. ASME, Vol. 117, pp. 156–165, March 1995.

Howell, L.L. and Midha, A., “A Method for the Design of Compliant Mechanisms with Small-Length Flexural Pivots,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Trans. ASME, Vol. 116, pp. 280–290, March 1994.

Selected Patents

“Spherical Three-degree-of-freedom Platform,” Lusk, C.P. and Howell, L.L., U.S. Patent 8,336,421, issued December 25, 2012, assigned to Brigham Young University.

“Spinal Implant,” Halverson, P.A., Howell, L.L., Magleby, S.P., and Bowden, A.E., U.S. Patent 8,308,801, November 13, 2012, assigned to Brigham Young University, licensed to Crocker Spinal Technologies, Inc.

“A Method of Treating a Degenerate Spinal Segment,” Bowden, A.E., Halverson, P.A., Howell, L.L., Stratton, E., US Patent 8,172,883, May 8, 2012, assigned to Brigham Young University.

“Carbon Nanotube-based Compliant Mechanism,” Culpepper, M.L., Magleby, S.P., Howell, L.L., DiBiasio, C., Panas, R., U.S. Patent 7,884,525, February 8, 2011, assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham Young University.