Steven Salazar

Steven Salazar is going into his third year as an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech in the College of Engineering studying Engineering Science and Mechanics with a concentration in Biomechanics. At Virginia Tech he works in the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS II) in Dr. Rolf Mueller’s Lab where he works on a team designing and producing synthetic biomimetic structures and actuation devices for a bio-inspired bat-robot.

Steven was a NSF REU program here at UGA in the WAVE lab where he was working on developing a soft robot capable of walking and climbing using pneumatic actuation and silicone molding techniques. The hope of the project is to integrate fiber optics into the design of the soft robot for sensing based on thermal readings, acoustic vibrations, and mechanical deformations as well as environmental qualities like humidity.