Kevin Chen is currently the D. Reid Weedon, Jr. ’41 Career Development Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT. He received his PhD in Engineering Sciences at Harvard University in 2017 and his bachelor’s degree in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2012. His work focuses on developing multifunctional and multimodal insect-scale robots. His research interests also include developing high bandwidth and robust soft actuators for microrobot manipulation and locomotion. He is a recipient of the several best paper awards at top robotics journals and conferences such as TRO 2021, RAL 2020, and IROS 2015.
My research is focused on modelling complex dynamical systems and on investigating the associated fluid mechanical interactions. I take a hybrid experimental and computational approach towards understanding the aerodynamic principles of flapping wing systems. Experimental and computational studies of biological and robotic systems lead to new locomotive strategies for robotic designs.