Principal Investigator
Dr. Luigi Perotti
Dr. Perotti received his Laurea (B.S./M.S.) in Civil Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. His graduate studies focused on developing new finite element methods for thin shells and on solving high-rate fluid-solid interaction problems. As a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA, he applied the continuum and computational mechanics tools he learned during his Ph.D to understand the electrophysiology and mechanics of the healthy and failing heart and the conformational changes occurring during the maturation of viral capsids. As an Assistant professor at the University of Central Florida in the MAE department, Dr. Perotti continues the study of cardiac kinematics and function by combining computational mechanics and MR Imaging and of thin shell morphing structures inspired by the maturation of viral capsids.
| Favorite things to do: | Kayak Polo and Backcountry Hiking |
| Links: | (Google Scholar) (Linkedin) |
Graduate Students
Uditha Weerasinghage
Uditha read for his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Civil Engineering at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
For his undergraduate thesis, he worked on the homogenization of woven composites for deployable space structures using multiscale modeling techniques. For his masters thesis, he investigated the non-linear bending behavior of ultra-thin woven composites at the meso-mechanical scale.
He completed his MS in Biomedical Engineering (Biomechanics) from the University of Central Florida and currently is continuing toward his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.
His current research focuses on understanding ventricular motion during active contraction and linking ventricular-scale mechanics and kinematics to meso- and micro-scale structural features and deformation patterns. This work aims to clarify how cellular- and meso-scale changes are reflected in overall ventricular function and dysfunction.
| Favorite things to do: | Reading, Camping, Traveling, Bike touring |
| Links: | (Google Scholar) (Linkedin) |
Rodrigo Menna Costa
Rodrigo is a Biomedical Engineering M.S./Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Central Florida. He earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from UCF, where his senior design project focused on developing an autonomous robotic system for object retrieval using computer vision and embedded systems. Rodrigo also served as a teaching assistant across multiple engineering and mathematics courses. His current research centers on automated cardiac medical image analysis, specializing in 3D model reconstruction from Cine MRI and the computation of myocardial strain and ejection fraction.
| Favorite things to do: | Reading, Walking, Programming, Motorsport |
| Links: | (Linkedin) |
Undergraduate Students
Annabel Allen
Annabel is a Senior in Mechanical Engineering looking to study Biomedical Engineering later in her graduate career. She is currently completing her Honors Undergraduate Thesis with the Burnett Honors College. Her research pertains to analyzing cardiac strains and creating an open-source program to compute them from echocardiogram images.
| Favorite things to do: | Playing video games, Reading, Watching Shows |
| |
Michael Freeland
Michael is a senior pursuing his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a Burnett Honors Scholar. He is planning on pursuing his Masters & PhD in Mechanical Engineering after receiving his Bachelors degree. His research pertains to the segmentation and analysis of the heart using DENSE MRI and applying group representation theory to the finite element method.
| Favorite things to do: | Playing Guitar, Singing, Photography |
William Southerland
William is a senior Computer Science student at UCF. He is a recipient of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. His research involves the creation of an application that utilizes machine learning and Python code to automate the segmentation of the left ventricular myocardium from CT images and the analysis of cardiac disease markers.
| Favorite things to do: | Programming, Playing video games |
| Links: | (Linkedin) |
Arianna Rodriguez
Arianna is an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering. Her research is focused on developing an open-source model of the forearm based on subject-specific ultrasound images in Python. Outside of the lab, Arianna works as a Medical Physics Assistant (MPA).
| Favorite things to do: | Reading, Traveling, Embroidery |
Alumni
- Graduate Students
- Mehlil Ahmed
- Mohammad Tanjib Rahman
- Shah Wasif Sazzad
- Undergraduate Students
- Daniel Biller
- Jared Decker
- Kylie Hackman
- Saar Peles
- Kestrel Pouchot
- Emily Whitt
- Geela Margo Ramos
- Munish Persaud
- Maria Bower
- Carlos Borras
- Anne Marie Ferron
- Sarah Vilamil
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Engineering 1, Room 361