Alexander Alvara
Current Research
2020 – Present Berkeley Autonomous Microsystems Lab (BAMLAB) - UC Berkeley
Low-cost Interplanetary Solar Sail
Autonomous Quadruped Walker Microrobot
Self-Righting for MEMS Robots
Autonomous Microrocket
Materials Characterization and Fabrication for Ionocraft
2018 – Present Liwei Lin Laboratory (L3) - UC Berkeley
Polymorphic Robust Actuators for Underwater Exploration
4D Printing of Hydrogels
Education
2018 – Present University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley CA, USA
Ph.D. & M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Major: MEMS/Nanoscale Science and Engineering
Co-Advisors: Prof. Liwei Lin, PhD (Mech. Engr.) and Prof. Kristofer Pister, PhD (Elec. Engr.)
PhD Coursework: Completed 05/15/2020
Preliminary Exam: Completed 01/16/2019
Minors: Public Policy, Materials Science, Physics, Mathematics, Machine Learning
Overall GPA: 3.709/4.000
2017 – 2018 University of Toronto (one-year study abroad) - Toronto ON, CAN
U.S. Fulbright Student Fellowship
Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) Certification 2018-2019
Advisors: Prof. James Drake, MD (Neuro.) and Prof. Andrew Goldenberg, PhD (Bio. Eng.)
2014 – 2017 University of California, Irvine (UCI) - Irvine CA, USA
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Specialization in Materials and Mechanical Design
Advisor: Prof. David Reinkensmeyer, PhD (Mech. Engr.)
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Specializations in Flow Physics and Propulsion Systems
Advisor: Prof: Robert Liebeck, PhD (Aero. Engr.)
B.S. Materials Science and Engineering
Advisors: Prof. Michelle Khine, PhD (Biomed. Engr.) and Prof. Chris Hoo, PhD (Mat. Sci.)
2011 – 2014 Los Angeles Pierce College (LAPC) - Woodland Hills CA, USA
A.S. Pre-Engineering
A.S. Mathematics
A.A. Humanities
A.A. Social & Behavioral Sciences
A.A. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Advisors: Prof. Lee Loveridge, PhD (Phys.) and Prof. Elizabeth Cheung, MS (Ind. Engr.)
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Grants
2021 Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) Fellow, National Research Foundation, Singapore
2020 Diversity & Community Fellowship, Office of Graduate Diversity, UC Berkeley
2019 National Science Foundation Graduate Resource Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) Award
2019 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship Award
2018 Berkeley Chancellor’s Fellowship for Graduate Study
2018 National GEM Ph.D. Fellowship
2017 U.S. Fulbright Student Research Fellowship
2016 Osher Scholarship for Top Performing Transfer Students
2015 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant Recipient (Mechanical Engineering)
2015 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant Recipient (Materials Science and Engineering)
2015 Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholarship
Patents
2020 Provisional Patent No. 62/833,549: Endoscopic Multi-Tool