Jonathan Brigham Hopkins is a professor of mechanical engineering at UCLA where he serves as Director of the Flexible Research Group and Vice-Chair for Graduate Affairs. Hopkins created the Freedom and Constraint Topologies (F.A.C.T.) system of mechanical design,[2][3] especially for the design of compliant mechanisms.

Dr.
Jonathan Brigham Hopkins
EducationMechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ph.D. 2010, M.S. 2007, B.S. 2005
OccupationProfessor
Employer(s)University of California, Los Angeles
Known forCompliant mechanism and metamaterials research and design
Notable workCreator of F.A.C.T. mechanical design framework
TitleASME Fellow and Director of the Flexible Research Group at UCLA
AwardsPresidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2013)[1]
Websitehttps://flexible.seas.ucla.edu/

Honors edit

In February 2016 Hopkins was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by President Barack Obama as part of the award class of 2013.[4][5]

In 2021 Hopkins was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).[6][7]

Hopkins' publication "Compliant Mechanisms That Use Static Balancing to Achieve Dramatically Different States of Stiffness" was selected for the 2021 Best Paper Award by the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics.[8]

FACT edit

 
The practical FACT chart showing the subset of 26 topologies realizable with a parallel flexure design

Hopkins introduced his Freedom and Constraint Topology (FACT) design paradigm in his 2007 Masters thesis.[2] The paradigm was further refined in his 2010 PhD thesis.[3] The paradigm synthesizes concepts from screw theory and projective geometry along with Maxwell's criterion for structural rigidity. FACT establishes a finite set of exactly 50 topologies which describe every possible configuration of flexure systems except for hybrid interconnected systems.

FACT is featured in chapter 6 of the Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms[9] edited by Hopkins' mentor Larry Howell.

YouTube Channel edit

Dr. Hopkins recorded his graduate level compliant mechanisms design course to offer virtual instruction to his students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopkins self-published the course as a free lecture series on YouTube. His channel is called "The FACTs of Mechanical Design", named after his FACT design paradigm. As of 2024, the channel contains a wide range of content on the principles and applications of compliant mechanisms, along with an additional free lecture series on traditional rigid body mechanisms.[10]

Selected Patents edit

"Array directed light-field display for autostereoscopic viewing"[11]

"Compliant mechanisms for orthopaedic joint replacement and implanted prostheses"[12]

"Compliant self-anchoring screw with auxetic properties"[13]

Selected Publications edit

Hopkins has well over 50 academic publications. Only a subset is included here. "Design, material, function, and fabrication of metamaterials"[14]

"Compliant Mechanisms That Use Static Balancing to Achieve Dramatically Different States of Stiffness"[15]

"Phase-Changing Metamaterial Capable of Variable Stiffness and Shape Morphing"[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "Jonathan Hopkins Wins Nation's Highest Honor for Young Researchers".
  2. ^ a b Hopkins, Jonathan. "Design of Parallel Flexure Systems via Freedom and Constraint Topologies (FACT), M.S. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology". MIT Libraries. hdl:1721.1/39879.
  3. ^ a b Hopkins, Jonathan. "Design of flexure-based motion stages for mechatronic systems via Freedom, Actuation and Constraint Topologies (FACT), Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology". MIT Libraries. hdl:1721.1/62511.
  4. ^ Rutter, Michael Patrick (19 February 2016). "Four MIT faculty win Presidential Early Career Awards". MIT.edu. MIT News.
  5. ^ Chin, Matthew; Kisliuk, Bill. "Three UCLA Engineering faculty win nation's highest honor for young researchers". UCLA.edu.
  6. ^ "Jonathan Hopkins elected a Fellow of ASME". UCLA.edu.
  7. ^ "Engineering Fellows - ASME". ASME.org.
  8. ^ Krovi, Venkat. "Announcing the 2021 Best Paper Award and Honorable Mention". JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS.
  9. ^ Howell, Larry; Magleby, Spencer; Olsen, Brian (April 2013). Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-119-95345-6.
  10. ^ "The FACTs of Mechanical Design". YouTube.
  11. ^ "ARRAY DIRECTED LIGHT-FIELD DISPLAY FOR AUTOSTEREOSCOPIC VIEWING". USPTO.
  12. ^ "COMPLIANT MECHANISMS FOR ORTHOPAEDIC JOINT REPLACEMENT AND IMPLANTED PROSTHESES". espacenet.com.
  13. ^ "COMPLIANT SELF-ANCHORING SCREW WITH AUXETIC PROPERTIES". USPTO.
  14. ^ Zapdoor; et al. "Design, material, function, and fabrication of metamaterials". pubs.aip.org. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  15. ^ Kuppens; Bessa; Herder; Hopkins. "Compliant Mechanisms That Use Static Balancing to Achieve Dramatically Different States of Stiffness". asme.org. J. Mechanisms Robotics.
  16. ^ Poon, Ryan; Hopkins, Jonathan (2019). "Phase-Changing Metamaterial Capable of Variable Stiffness and Shape Morphing". Advanced Engineering Materials. 21 (12). doi:10.1002/adem.201900802.