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Lab members

Currently working in the lab. Click here for previous members.

Dr. Jake Socha
Principal Investigator
 

I am the Samuel Herrick Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech.  I am also a member of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, an affiliate of VT’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Department of Biological Sciences, and Department of Entomology, a member of VT’s Integrative Organismal Biology group, and member of of VT's BIOTRANS interdisciplinary graduate education program. 

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Download CV (pdf)

Postdocs

Pranav Khandelwal

VT Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow

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Pranav is a Virginia Tech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow co-supervised by Dr. Shane Ross. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021 working with Dr. Tyson Hedrick. His Ph.D. focused on providing a holistic understanding of gliding in flying lizards where he integrated aspects of sensing, morphology, and the environment to understand how it shapes the gliding behavior of the lizard. After his Ph.D., Pranav spent three years in Germany working at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (2021-24) and the University of Stuttgart (2023-24). During this time, he worked on using robotic platforms to test animal locomotion hypotheses and develop motion capture techniques to track the position and behavior of the animal using drones. Pranav's research operates at the interface of biology, physics, and engineering, using insights and techniques from each to explore movement in biological systems. 

Graduate students

Josh Pulliam

Ph.D. student

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Josh is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, whose research focuses on how animals climb i arboreal environments. Josh earned dual degrees in applied physics from Morehouse College and mechanical engineering from Auburn University. 

Jeff Anderson

Ph.D. student

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Jeff is a PhD student in Biological Sciences. His research explores the challenges and tradeoffs that limbless reptiles experience when feeding in an arboreal environment. Jeff earned his BS in biology from University of Maryland Eastern Shore and his masters from Emporia State University studying the influence of temperature on the constriction performance of corn snakes. 

Yohan Sequeira

Ph.D. student

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Yohan is a PhD student in the engineering mechanics program of the BEAM department. He is also a member of the Biological Transport (BIOTRANS) program, an interdisciplinary graduate program that integrates engineering and biology. He earned his BS and MS in biological engineering from Cornell University. He is working on how flying squid fly.

Josh Taylor

Ph.D. student

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Josh (aka, Rob) is a PhD student in the engineering mechanics program of the BEAM department. He is also a member of the Biological Transport (BIOTRANS) program, an interdisciplinary graduate program that integrates engineering and biology. He earned his BS in kinesiology from James Madison University. He is working on jumping in snakes.

Jonathan Zelaya

Ph.D. student

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Jonathan is a PhD student in the engineering mechanics program of the BEAM department. He is also a member of the Biological Transport (BIOTRANS) program, an interdisciplinary graduate program that integrates engineering and biology. He is co-advised within the lab, and his primary advisor is Dr. Mark Stremler. Jonathan earned his BS in physics from Whitworth University. 

Undergraduates

Saadbin Khan

Ph.D. student

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Saadbin is a PhD student in the engineering mechanics program of the BEAM department. He is also a member of the Biological Transport (BIOTRANS) program, an interdisciplinary graduate program that integrates engineering and biology. He is co-advised within the lab, and his primary advisor is Dr. Anne Staples. Saadbin earned his BS in mechanical engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology and his masters in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Oklahoma State University. 

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