Michael Bartlett, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, has received an Office of Naval Research (ONR) 2021 Young Investigator award (YIP) to study bio-inspired wearable sensors.

Soft, wearable sensors and electronics hold the potential to enable new paradigms in situational awareness. This three-year, $510,000 project aims to significantly advance fundamental knowledge of soft sensing architectures, enabling wearable platforms that mimic underwater organisms and provide real-time sensor data to a user for a better understanding of their environment. 

The work will be done as part of ONR’s Littoral Geosciences and Optics Program.

The Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR YIP) is one of the nation’s oldest and most selective science and technology basic research programs. Its purpose is to fund early-career academic researchers whose scientific pursuits show outstanding promise for supporting the Department of Defense, while also promoting their professional development.

In addition to the ONR YIP award, Bartlett has also received a DARPA Young Faculty Award and DARPA Director’s Fellowship, a 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, ICTAS Junior Faculty Award, the Early Career Scientist Award from the Adhesion Society, and an Outstanding Faculty Award (student nominated).