Michael Cullinan

Biography

Dr. Cullinan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the University of Texas, Dr. Cullinan was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Cullinan received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2011. At MIT, Dr. Cullinan worked in the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity (LMP) as part of the Precision Compliant Systems Laboratory (PCSL) directed by Professor Martin Culpepper. Dr. Cullinan also holds an MS (2008) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT as well as a BS in Engineering and a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College.

Dr. Cullinan’s research focuses on the development of novel nanomanufacturing systems and on finding ways to exploit nanoscale physical phenomena in order to improve existing macroscale devices and to create novel micro- and nanoscale devices for energy and sensing applications. As a postdoctoral associate, Dr. Cullinan has worked on developing nanomanufacturing methods for low-cost, high-volume production of graphene-based nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) resonators. For his Ph.D. research, he developed precision force/displacement transducers that use carbon nanotube based piezoresistors as the sensing element. His research interests include the design and development of nanomanufacturing processes and equipment, the application of nanoscale science in engineering, the engineering of thin films, nanotubes and nanowires, the manufacturing and assembly of nanostructured materials, and the design of micro/nanoscale machine elements for mechanical sensors and energy systems.

Dr. Cullinan focuses on the design and development of novel processes and equipment for the manufacturing of micro and nanoscale devices and structures. As materials and mechanisms are scaled down to the nanoscale, new physical phenomena emerge, producing unique and extraordinary mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. However, taking advantage of these properties to create useful, marketable products has often proven difficult. These difficulties result from our inability to quickly and reliably incorporate nanostructures and nanoscale materials into micro/macroscale structures and devices. Therefore, new nanomanufacturing processes and equipment must be developed to overcome these limitations and enable the successful manufacturing of precise and repeatable nanoscale structures and devices for high-value defense, energy, and nanoelectronic applications. Current work in the NDML at UT-Austin focuses on several areas that are critical to the advancement of micro and nanomanufacturing including: (1) The creation of novel processes for the micro/nanoscale additive manufacturing three dimensional parts out of structural materials such as metals and ceramics, (2) The design and fabrication of tools and equipment for the manufacturing of three dimensional, flexible, hybrid nanoelectronic devices, (3) The development of in-line metrology and inspection systems for nanomanufacturing operations, and (4) The large-scale integration of nanoscale materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes into nanoelectronic and nanomechanical devices.

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