Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Jun Zhang has published an opinion piece on coiled muscles — a type of artificial muscle — in the March 7 issue of Science magazine. “Ply for a large stroke” discusses advances in the production of coiled muscle, particularly the use of twisted polymer fibers to improve stroke and force output of the coiled muscle. Zhang’s piece appears in the magazine’s Insights | Perspectives section and complements a relevant research paper in the same issue.
Zhang, who joined the University of Nevada, Reno in 2018, researches the integration of control theory, robotics, smart materials and artificial muscles. In particular, he is interested in design, modeling and control of smart materials and artificial muscles with applications to biomimetic soft robots, assistive robots and microelectromechanical systems.
