Berkeley Autonomous Microsystems Lab

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My name is Alexander Alvara and I began my PhD in Mechanical Engineering in the Fall of 2018. I am co-Advised by Prof. Pister and Prof. Lin and joined the BAMLAB in January of 2020 (the year of the plague… and the brushfires… and the floods… and the blast… and Floyd, Taylor, … nevermind the list is too long).

I am the lead researcher on the…

1. Walker project, working to get a fully autonomous walking quadrupedal (and other legged) robot up and running, pun intended.
2. Self-Righting project, working to figure out micro-actuator solutions to the question of, “what happens when a microrobot falls over in the forest and noone hears it?”
3. Microrocket project, working to get a fully autonomous high-maneuverability crayon sized (fav flavor: forest green) rocket. Here I also lead a group of undergrads in developing innovative designs applied to the mini and micro scale rockets.

I also work on…

1. the Berkeley Low-cost Interplanetary Solar Sail project, where I am a key contributor in the development of a highly-functional micro-scale solution to satellites.
2. the Ionocraft project, were I am testing new possible designs and manufacturing solutions for the electrohydrodynamic micro-drone.

I enjoy rest, relaxation, and restorative justice in all aspects of life.