ESE PhD candidate William Reinhardt defended his dissertation on Control Strategies for Electronically-Integrated Microbots on May 14th. Advised by Professor Marc Miskin, Reinhardt’s research focussed on developing a robust, electronically-integrated propulsion mechanism.
According to Reinhardt, an electronically-integrated propulsion mechanism “is highly desirable in the microbotics community as it could easily integrate with silicon microelectronics such as processor, sensor, memory.”
During his time at Penn, Reinhardt and the Miskin Lab specifically developed an “electrokinetic motor entirely regulated by onboard electronics. In addition, we came up with useful ways to do control at the microscale using this motor, first by demonstrating a differential-drive microrobot and then introducing a reactive control architecture based on general relativity,” Reinhardt explained. “Hopefully these contributions are seen as a promising potential route forward for the microrobotics community.”
Reinhardt’s research incorporated different fields such as electrochemistry, optics, and devices. While this proved rewarding, it also presented challenges. “I needed to be familiar with topics I didn’t have prior experience with,” Reinhardt explains. “Luckily, having a readily available advisor and labmates with a wide breadth of knowledge made it easy to ask questions and learn many different topics.”
In fact, Reinhardt credits the entire Miskin Lab for the contributions they made to his research. “I’ve been super lucky to have such a supportive, knowledgeable group to help me out during my time here at Penn.”
Reinhardt experienced several memorable moments during his time at Penn. Attending the James Bond opening night gala at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago remains one of the most vivid. “Our microrobots were on display in the exhibit, and it was super cool getting to see something I worked on in a museum framed alongside famous movie props.”
Regarding future plans, Reinhardt will work as a senior device engineer at a Bay Area tech company. “I’m super excited to try out living in CA,” Reinhardt emphasizes.
When Reinhardt isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing soccer, and hanging out with his dog.Learn more about Reinhardt’s work here