Occupation Professor | Name Maurizio Porfiri | |
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Organization New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering Education Virginia Tech, Sapienza University of Rome | ||
Fish n robots not a take out food maurizio porfiri tedxsmu
Maurizio Porfiri (born Rome, Italy) is an Italian electrical engineer, noted for his work with robotic fish. His research focuses on network theory, dynamical systems, and multiphysics modeling of complex systems. He is a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering.
Contents
- Fish n robots not a take out food maurizio porfiri tedxsmu
- Engineering the Ultimate Robotic Fish
- Education
- Career awards
- Research
- References
Engineering the Ultimate Robotic Fish
Education
Porfiri earned his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He also holds a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Toulon.
Career & awards
Porfiri is a professor at New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department. He is founder and director of the Dynamical Systems Laboratory which conducts research of modeling and control of complex dynamical systems with a developed expertise in biomimetics and underwater applications. In 2008, Porfiri won the NSF Career Award for dynamical systems. Popular Science listed Porfiri in their Brilliant 10 in 2010. In 2013, he was named the ASME Dynamic Systems and Controls Division Outstanding Young Investigator for his contributions to biomimetic underwater robotics and collective dynamics of networked dynamical systems. He earned the ASME Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award that same year. In 2015, he won the ASME C.D. Mote, Jr. Early Career Award.
Research
In 2012, Porfiri used robotic rovers to explore the Gowanus Canal in an attempt to learn how the toxic water affects wildlife. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation(NSF).
Porfiri and his team at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering have designed bio-inspired robotic fish to determine whether they could act as leaders to real fish. The robotic models provide predictable, controllable stimuli alongside live animals which is repeatable and consistent. Porfiri has shown that the tail movement of a robotic fish can influence whether or not a zebrafish will accept the robot as a leader. A school of Golden shiner followed the robotic fish in school-like positions in a water tunnel experiment, even though the robot is bigger than the fish and not the same color. The goal is to lead live fish away from dangerous areas including oil or chemical spill and natural disasters. The research was funded by a NSF Faculty Early Career Development award.
Porfiri has conducted experiments with robotic replicas which evoke fear responses in zebrafish, and worked with the connection between alcohol and social behavior finding that alcohol reduces fear in zebrafish. He led a team from both the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which found that female killifish prefer males with yellow fins.
In 2015, Porfiri's research in the directional information flow underlying collective animal behavior will be paired with education and outreach activities in Brooklyn public schools through the STEM program.