Ryan Orszulik

Assistant Professor of Space Engineering
York University

Dr. Ryan Orszulik joined York University as an Assistant Professor in Engineering Design in 2019. After receiving his Ph.D., he was an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institute of Mechanics at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. Following that he was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Harvard Microrobotics Lab in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

Dr. Orszulik’s previous research includes active vibration control, membrane control for a synthetic aperture radar antenna, and a flight-qualified nanometer-level positioning system. These research topics all originate from the core theme of his research, which is to exploit the vast potential of smart materials, in particular piezoelectrics and shape memory alloys, in applications from instrumentation to structures. In particular, he is interested in the intelligent design of robotic and mechatronic systems through the development of dynamic models, the discovery of new fabrication techniques, and the use of advanced control.