Soft Robotic Snake Design & Locomotion

Developing a soft robotic snake to achieve bio-inspired locomotion on heterogeneous surfaces. Fabricated 2+ generations of McKibben actuators to improve pneumatic actuation quality and tested 5+ bio-inspired skin designs through elastomer molding and FDM-based thermoplastic printing. Demonstrated soft robotic snake locomotion on 5 different heterogeneous surfaces and correlated locomotion performance to friction test results — the first study to establish this link. Findings revealed that anisotropic friction alone does not determine locomotion performance, motivating ongoing work on mechanics of surface-snake scale interplay. First-year results published at RoboSoft 2026.

Papers

Wrist-Worn Haptic Device

Designed a wrist-worn haptic interface that relocates tactile feedback from fingertip to wrist for freer VR/AR interaction. Built a custom voice-coil actuator with optimized neodymium magnet and coil geometry, iterated through 10+ 3D-printed case prototypes, and implemented embedded firmware for real-time actuation with tunable intensity. Validated through user studies on stiffness discrimination. Two publications: IEEE World Haptics 2023, IEEE RA-L 2024.

IEEE RA-L | World Haptics 23

Haptic Game Interface Design

Developed a Unity3D smartphone game as a gamified psychophysical testing platform replacing traditional tactile experiments. Implemented procedural path generation and three haptic feedback modes via Interhaptics Composer with real-time data collection of user responses. Published in IEEE Transactions on Haptics 2025.

IEEE ToH

Visible-Light Positioning

Contributed to the development of a spatial modulation-based 3D indoor visible light positioning (VLP) algorithm that achieved positioning errors an order of magnitude smaller than conventional RSS-based techniques. Designed and executed MATLAB simulations including user trajectory modeling, SNR-dependent pilot selection, and Monte Carlo-based error analysis across indoor environments. Published in Optics Communications 2023.

Optics Communications

Robot Swarm Coordination

Contributed to developing local cost-minimization strategies for circular formation of autonomous robot groups operating without communication, relying solely on sensor-based relative positioning of nearby members. Designed cost functions and simulation parameters that achieved arc, arc-triangle, and circle formations maintainable during navigation. Published in Adaptive Behavior 2024.

Adaptive Behavior

Robert and Deanna Hagerty Scholarship

$3,000 merit based award given for an interest or excellence in the field of Robotics through coursework, research and/or extracurricular activities.

Joseph E. Motherway Fellowship

Monetary award given to an outstanding student for their work in the area of design at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Valedictorian

Graduated as Valedictorian of Class of 2023 with a 4.00/4.00 GPA.

Lightning Talk — College of Engineering

Selected to present snake-inspired soft robotic locomotion research as one of 50 engineering graduate students in a 90-second lightning talk competition. Delivered both an oral and poster presentation.

Poster Presentation — 2023 IEEE World Haptics Conference

Presented research on a wrist-worn haptic device. Served as a student volunteer, assisting with conference organization, session coordination, and speaker support.

Graduate Teaching Assistant — University of Massachusetts Amherst

• MIE124 - Computer Prog. for Eng. Problem Solving - Spring 2025

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant — Kadir Has University

• KHAS109 - Computational Thinking (Undergrad TA) - Fall 2022
• KHAS110 - Civic Responsibility Project - Spring 2022
• KHAS101- Origins and Consequences - Fall 2021
• TLL102 - Critical Reading and Writing in Turkish II - Spring 2021
• TLL101 - Critical Reading and Writing in Turkish I - Fall 2020