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I am a graduate student in MIT Mechanical Engineering in the Portela Research Group, researching mechanics of physically intelligent materials across scales.
I design, fabricate, and characterize the mechanics of material systems that respond predictably to various stimuli, such as mechanical forces and vibrations and magnetic fields.
These materials systems transform material functionality in medical devices, robotics, and microelectronics.
Recent News
Recent News
Magnetically responsive microprintable soft nanocomposites with tunable nanoparticle loading: published in Matter, April 2026
featured in MIT News
Awarded the Den Hartog Travel Award in Mechanics to present at the Society of Engineering Science Annual Technical Meeting, October 2025
Selected to attend the NextProf Nexus workshop at UC Berkeley, September 2025
Research Overview
Research Overview
I use solid mechanics principles to design, fabricate, and characterize physically intelligent materials to transform how we use materials in complex engineering problems across medical, defense, and robotics applications.
Programming microscale 3D printed nanocomposites with spatially tunable magnetic and mechanical properties
Programming microscale 3D printed nanocomposites with spatially tunable magnetic and mechanical properties
Read more about Magnetically responsive microprintable soft nanocomposites with tunable nanoparticle loading, published in Matter, open access on arXiv.
For a simple summary of the article, see this MIT News article.
Redistributing mass to change how ultrasound waves travel through a material
Redistributing mass to change how ultrasound waves travel through a material
Read more about Tailored ultrasound propagation in microscale metamaterials via inertia design, published in Science Advances.
For a simple summary of the article, see this MIT News article.
Extracting a metamaterial's vibrational fingerprint without touching it
Extracting a metamaterial's vibrational fingerprint without touching it
Read more about Dynamic diagnosis of metamaterials through laser-induced vibrational signatures, published in Nature.
For a simple summary of the article, see my article in Nature Briefings, or see this MIT News article.
Mimicking natural growth processes to control mechanical properties
Mimicking natural growth processes to control mechanical properties
Read more about Growth rules for irregular architected materials with programmable properties, published in Science
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