Antonio Alvarez Valdivia

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University

SoP Prompt: A statement (no hard limitation on length, but it’s better to keep them within two pages) is encouraged concerning your interest in undertaking or continuing graduate study, your reasons for wanting to study at Purdue, and your professional plans, career goals, and research interests. You also may explain any special circumstances applicable to your background and elaborate on your special abilities, awards (including fellowships), achievements, scholarly publications, and/or professional history. The graduate program to which you are applying may have additional requirements.

I grew up in Mexico, a country where scientific research is limited, and academic personnel in science and technology are considerably scarce. I was unfamiliar with graduate education. I knew that scientific research was a thing from movies and cartoons, but I did not know that I could become a scientist if I wanted to. With the goal of becoming an engineer, I started my high school education at the Center for Technical and Industrial Education (CETI) in Guadalajara, Mexico, where I worked towards an Engineering Technology Degree in Automation and Instrumentation. The curriculum at CETI prepares students to join the workforce right after high school. Although there were no opportunities to get involved in research there, this formative experience shaped my current interest in mechatronics and robotics. I enjoyed my vocational education at CETI, but my curiosity was pushing me to go further. I wanted to explore and understand advanced engineering technology and participate in its advancement. After moving to the US and pursuing undergraduate education at a research university, opportunities to get involved in research opened up, and my path to becoming a scientist took shape.

Since the beginning of my undergraduate education at Iowa State University, I have been continuously engaged in academic research by participating in summer REUs, performing research for credit, and joining the McNair Scholars Program, for which I was awarded as the 2019 Outstanding First-Year Scholar. From my participation in these research activities and my McNair preparation work, I experienced engineering research environments. I learned how to communicate research by performing multiple oral and poster presentations and worked on both independent and team-based research efforts. Considering my academic journey, extracurricular activities, and research experiences, I am confident that I am ready to become a graduate student in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University.

In my first research experience in the summer of 2018, I participated in the Multiscale Sensing Actuation and Imaging REU Program at Iowa State University. I worked with Dr. Jaime Juarez conducting research on developing a portable microscopy device for microrheology, bioanalytical sciences, and healthcare monitoring. A key outcome of my participation in Dr. Juarez’s lab that summer was the prototype construction and collection of data incorporated into a manuscript published in the Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science Journal. I continued my work with Dr. Juarez as my faculty mentor by participating in the McNair Scholars Program. This program has prepared me for graduate school through my involvement in research activities exploring topics such as microfluidics, interface and colloid science, additive manufacturing, and flexible electronics. Recently, we submitted another manuscript based on my work on 3D printed self-propelled composite floaters at Dr. Juarez’s lab to the Additive Manufacturing Journal. The variety of topics and research projects that I conducted under Dr. Juarez’s supervision has helped me understand the applicability of mechanical engineering studies, which enabled me to refine my research interests. From all of the projects, I especially enjoyed working on flexible electronics when we explored a simple fabrication method to produce flexible circuits using 3D-printed patterns to fabricate microchannels formed in polymer mixtures and filled with liquid metals, such as EGaIn and Gallium. From this project, I familiarized myself with different approaches to the fabrication of soft and flexible electronics, such as textiles, flexible plastic substrates, microfabrication and nanomaterials, origami and kirigami, and microfluidics/liquid metals. These strategies can be summarized in two categories: materials innovation, for which research is focused on developing stretchable and soft materials, and mechanical design, which aims to create unique structures that make non-stretchable materials deformable by strain. I am more interested in working on structural and mechanical design. Still, I also understand that a sophisticated mixture of material innovation and mechanical design would be a better approach for creating soft and flexible electronics.

My exploration of flexible electronics and its implications for soft and flexible robotics continued during the summer of 2019 when I participated in the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship in Sensor Technologies REU Program at the University of Pennsylvania. I worked under the supervision of Dr. Kevin Turner, performing research on flexible capacitive force sensors for robotic grippers. For this project, I worked independently on prototyping and testing flexible, parallel-plate capacitive sensors using polymers in different concentrations as both the dielectric material and substrates to hold copper electrodes that were cut using a mechanical cutter. The capacitance produced by the sensors ranged in between 1-20pF for dielectric layer thicknesses of 400μm-1.2mm. To measure and interpret such minuscule changes in capacitance, I had to test multiple electronic measuring systems, from a simple 555-timer circuit and a voltage divider capacitive circuit to a capacitance-to-digital converter. These sensors’ fabrication processes are more cost-effective and straightforward than other sophisticated methods that require microfabrication techniques. Sensors like these could potentially be used in robots for gripping applications. The sensors would provide feedback about whether the force applied to the object is adequate, hence controlling the grippers’ adhesion or pressure.

From my participation in both Dr. Juarez and Dr. Turner’s research groups, I have developed an interest in soft/flexible robotics and electronics. These recent technologies, inspired by the human body and other living organisms, may diversify the applications of robotics and electronics. I plan to continue my education towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on material innovation and mechanical design for soft/flexible robotics and electronic system for manufacturing, healthcare, and wearable technology. As a graduate student, I am interested in exploring solutions that look at nature as an inspiration for new mechanical/robotic designs and functional materials. I want to target my research work to applications that could provide sensing capabilities to robotic grasping technologies, potentially delivering better gripping and allowing for a broader range of robotic motions, manipulation tasks, and sensing capabilities. Because of my interests in developing soft robotics and flexible electronics, I would like to work with Prof. Chortos, Prof. Lee, Prof. Blumenschein, and Prof. Arrieta. Ultimately, I envision myself developing a professional career as an engineering research scientist, preferably in an academic setting, leading research efforts to innovate soft robotics and flexible electronics. One of my goals is to study and provide innovative solutions for applying flexible electronics and soft robotics on grasping systems and wearable technology that can be used by both robots and humans in environments where human-robot interaction is (or will be) implemented.

Another critical factor for my motivation to pursue graduate education is my desire to support students from underrepresented backgrounds. I appreciate diversity and understand its importance for the advancement of society and the promotion of new ideas. As a graduate student, I am interested in becoming a mentor for undergraduate minority students wanting to get involved in research. In my own experience, networking with faculty and graduate students from underrepresented groups inspires me to one day become a role model and a source of inspiration for future generations of scientists from underrepresented groups. I am fully committed to providing my enthusiasm and energy to reduce educational disparities for minority students by actively participating in any STEM community outreach and undergraduate research programs at the School of Mechanical Engineering.

I believe my research and academic experience, in addition to strong values such as discipline, patience, integrity, and passion for my research interests, have prepared me to become a successful doctoral student. I am eager to have a positive impact on cutting-edge research at the School of Mechanical Engineering. I am excited to begin this next chapter of my life and career with a doctorate from Purdue University.