I am a graduate student in MIT Mechanical Engineering in the Portela Research Group, researching mechanics of physically intelligent materials across scales.
I design, fabricate, and characterize the mechanics of material systems that respond predictably to various stimuli, such as mechanical forces and vibrations and magnetic fields.
These materials systems transform material functionality in medical devices, robotics, and microelectronics.
Awarded the 2026 Meredith Kamm Memorial Award for exceptional achievement as a female graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at MIT.
Awarded 2nd place in the 2026 MIT Mechanical Engineering DeFlorez Graduate Science Poster Competition for "Tuning Magnetic Response in 3D-Printed Microstructures."
Magnetically responsive microprintable soft nanocomposites with tunable nanoparticle loading: published in Matter, April 2026
featured in MIT News
I use solid mechanics principles to design, fabricate, and characterize physically intelligent materials to transform how we use materials in complex engineering problems across medical, defense, and robotics applications.
Read more about Magnetically responsive microprintable soft nanocomposites with tunable nanoparticle loading, published in Matter, open access on arXiv.
For a simple summary of the article, see this MIT News article.
Read more about Tailored ultrasound propagation in microscale metamaterials via inertia design, published in Science Advances.
For a simple summary of the article, see this MIT News article.
Read more about Dynamic diagnosis of metamaterials through laser-induced vibrational signatures, published in Nature.
For a simple summary of the article, see my article in Nature Briefings, or see this MIT News article.
Read more about Growth rules for irregular architected materials with programmable properties, published in Science