A mechanical engineer by training, I am passionate about creating novel fabrication processes. My work is drawn from experience with mechanical design, electronics, computer programming and materials science. I am excited about using digital manufacturing to change the types of products we create, as well the way they are designed.

I have experience designing custom CNC equipment including a 2’x4′ wood router, and 3D printers for stereolithography, direct-write assembly, and fused filament fabrication. I also have experience creating designs for and operating CNC plasma cutters, milling machines, laser cutters, waterjet cutters, and various commercial 3D printers.

For a more extensive resume, please visit my Linkedin profile.

• Cornell University  (2013 – present)
  • Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) – in progress
  • Major: Mechanical Engineering
    • Concentration: Dynamics and Controls
  • Minor Subjects: Computer Science, Materials Engineering

• North Carolina State University (2008 – 2012)
  • Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Valedictorian, Class of 2012

• Journal Articles
  1. [altmetric doi=”10.1126/science.aac5082″ popover=”right” float = “right”] Larson, C.†, Peele, B.†, Li, S.†, Robinson, S., Totaro, M., Beccai, L., Mazzolai, B., & Shepherd, R. (2016). Highly Stretchable Electroluminescent Skin for Optical Signaling and Tactile Sensing. Science, Vol. 351, Issue 6277, pp. 1071-1074. († These authors contributed equally to this work.) 
  2. Peele, B. N., Wallin, T. J., Zhao, H., & Shepherd, R. F. (2015). 3D printing antagonistic systems of artificial muscle using projection stereolithography. Biomimetics and Bioinspiration, 10(5):055003. 
  3. Li, S., Peele, B. N.,  Larson, C. M., Zhao, H., & Shepherd, R. F. (2016). A Stretchable Multicolor Display and Touch Interface Using Photopatterning and Transfer Printing. Advanced Materials, 10.1002/adma.201603408.
  4. Robinson, S. S., O’Brien, K. W., Zhao, H., Peele, B. N., Larson, C. M., Mac Murray, B. C., van Meerbeek, I. M., Dunham, S. N., & Shepherd, R. F. (2015). Integrated soft sensors and elastomeric actuators for tactile machines with kinesthetic sense. Extreme Mechanics Letters.
  5. Lihong, L., Robinson, S. S., Peele, B. N., Zhao, H., Mac Murray, B. C., Min, J. K., Mosadegh, B., Dunham, S., & Shepherd, R. F. (2016). Selective Mineralization of Tough Hydrogel Lumens for Simulating Arterial Plaque. Advanced Engineering Materials. 10.1002/adem.201600591.

• Conference Proceedings
  1. Shepherd, R., Peele, B., Mac Murray, B., Barreiros, J., Shapira, O., Spjut, J., & Luebke, D. (2017). Stretchable Transducers for Kinesthetic Interactions in Virtual Reality. 2017 SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies. July 30 – August 3. Los Angeles, CA.
  2. Hamill, S., Peele, B. N., Ferenz, P., Westwater, M., Shepherd, R. F., & Kress-Gazit, H. (2016). Gait Synthesis for Modular Soft Robots. 2016 International Symposium on Experimental Robotics. October 3-6, 2016. Tokyo, Japan.
  3. Furst, S., Peele, B., & Seelecke, S. (2012). Design and Fabrication of an SMA Actuated Bat. Volume 2: Mechanics and Behavior of Active Materials; Integrated System Design and Implementation; Bio-Inspired Materials and Systems; Energy Harvesting.

• Conference Presentations
  • Shepherd, R., Peele, B., Mac Murray, B., Barreiros, J., Shapira, O., Spjut, J., & Luebke, D. (2017). Stretchable Transducers for Kinesthetic Interactions in Virtual Reality. 2017 SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies. August 3. Los Angeles, CA.
  • Peele, B., Mac Murray, B., & Shepherd, R. (2017) Stretchable Transducers for Haptic Communication in Virtual and Augmented Reality. GPU Technology Conference. May 11, 2017. San Jose, CA.
  • Peele, B. N. (2015). Printing Organic Sensors and Actuators that are Intrinsically Soft. Materials Research Society Fall Meeting. December 2, 2015. Boston, MA. 

• Poster Sessions
  • Peele, B. N., Wallin, T. J., & Shepherd, R. F. 3D Printing Antagonistic Systems of Artificial Muscle Using Projection Stereolithography. RoboSoft Plenary Meeting. April 15-16, 2015. Livorno, Italy.
  • Peele, B. N., Larson, C., Li, S., Robinson, S., Totaro, M., Beccai, L., Mazzolai, B., & Shepherd, R. Highly Stretchable Electroluminescent Skin for Optical Signaling and Tactile Sensing. Northeast Robotics Colloquium (NERC V). October 29-30, 2016. Ithaca, NY.
  • Hamill, S., Peele, B. N., Ferenz, P., Westwater, M., Shepherd, R. F., & Kress-Gazit, H. Gait Synthesis for Modular Soft Robots. Northeast Robotics Colloquium (NERC V). October 29-30, 2016. Ithaca, NY.

• Cornell Commercialization Fellowship
  • Awarded April 2016 (inaugural class)
  • The Commercialization Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for Ph.D. students to spend a fully-funded semester and summer in an intensive entrepreneurship program with a personal mentor to explore commercializing a product of the student’s choosing.

• National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps)
  • Awarded December 2016.
  • Entrepreneurial Lead, Co-authored grant for $70k to explore commercial potential of academic research.

• Cornell Engineering Funding for Scale-up & Prototyping
  • Awarded June 2017
  • Grant for $20k to commercialize technology developed at Cornell.

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
  • Awarded April 2014
  • The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines

• Park Scholarship
  • Awarded April 2008
  • The Park Scholarship is a four-year, merit based scholarship awarded to 40-50 students per year on the basis of outstanding accomplishments and potential in scholarship, leadership, service and character.

• Valedictorian, North Carolina State University
  • Class of 2012

• 3D Haptic interface using photonic sensing in poroelastic foams.
  • Provisional Patent Application No. 62/444,581.
  • Filed January 10, 2017.

• Stretchable electroluminescent devices and methods of making and using same.
  • PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US16/60346.
  • Filed November 3, 2016.

• Engineer, Holocene Technologies (November 2011 – July 2013)
  • Responsible for mechanical and thermal design of solar thermal heating systems for commercial installations.
  • Interfaced with clients and contractors to develop system specifications.
  • Produced designs for manufacture and oversaw production
  • Developed electronic system to control and monitor energy production

• Researcher, ZeMA – Zentrum für Mechatronik und Automatisierungstechnik (Center for Mechatronics and Automation) (May 2011 – December 2011)
  • Worked within Dr. Seelecke’s Multifuntional Materials Systems Lab (MMSL).
  • Designed Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuated mechanical bat designed to mimic motion of tendons in biological bats.
  • Resulting 3D printed models are on display at the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh, NC.

• Researcher, University of Hawaii and Manoa (May 2010 – August 2010)
  • Used ANSYS Fluent to model the accumulated velocity of shipping containers in tsunami conditions.
  • Preliminary results included in an industry newsletter published by Pointwise.

• Researcher, North Carolina State University (January 2010 – May 2010)
  • Worked in Dr. Seelecke’s Adaptive Structures Lab (ASL)
  • Designed and characterized negative-bias springs (NBS) for coupling with dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) actuators.

• Researcher, Southern Methodist University (June 2009 – July 2009)
  • Worked in Dr. Kovacavic’s Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM).
  • Developed mechanical test stand for integrated electron beam/plasma window system.
  • Performed FEA analysis to ensure stand could support the requisite 2000 lb of lead needed for protective lead shield.

• Cornell:
  • CS 6700: Advanced Artificial Intelligence
  • CS  5780: Machine Learning
  • CS 5643: Physics Based Animation for Computer Graphics
  • MAE 6700: Advanced Dynamics
  • MAE 5730: Intermediate Dynamics and Vibrations
  • MAE 5780: Feedback Control Systems
  • MAE 6950: Smart Materials
  • MAE 6950: Rheology and Processing of Soft Materials
  • CHEME 6400: Polymeric Materials
  • MSE 5210: Properties of Solid Polymers
  • BME 5950: Business as a Second Language