Our Team
Rob began at Binghamton University (Binghamton, NY) in Januarty 2024. Rob earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College (Schenectady, NY, 2013) where he gained an appreciation for professors' roles not only as educators, but also as discoverers of new information and developers of new engineering practices. After a four year stint (2013-2017) working as an an Application Engineer at GE Oil & Gas (Houston, TX), Rob decided to pursue his Ph.D. in Material Science & Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder (2022) with a focus in soft matter mechanics and collective behavior of living systems. From August 2022 to December 2023, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Cornell).
Rob's biggest research interests center on the ability of living systems to harness spontaneous, local drops in entropy to achieve high-resolution assembly, reconstitution of components, and execution of mechanical tasks such as actuation, motility, and intrinsic mechanoresponse with efficacy that artificial materials cannot. As a scientitst, Rob intends to observe and discover new principles by which living systems operate to achieve collective tasks. As an engineer, Rob intends to put what he learns into practice for development of new computational mechanics methods, biomimicry, and predictive design of new, active materials.
Robert J. Wagner (PI)
Assistant Professor of Mech. Eng.
Ph.D., Mat. Sci. & Eng. (CU Boulder)
B.S., Mech. Eng. (Union College)
Ph.D. Students
Sifat graduated with from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined our group in the Fall of 2024. Driven by a strong passion for nature and engineering, his research is primarily focused on the enchanting fields of Biomechanics and Computational Solid Mechanics. His work centers on understanding the mechanical aspects of biological systems, aiming to unravel their complexities. Whether it's decoding the peculiar movements of tiny insects or capturing breathtaking photos of birds in the forest's depths, Sifat is always up for an adventure.
Sifat Mottaqin
B.S., Mechanical Engineering (BUET)
Undergraduate Researchers
John Mehalak
Mechanical Engineering
John is a Junior at Binghamton University working towards a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a 2025 receiptiant of the Inclusive Innovation Internship (I3) sponsored by Binghamton's Division of Research, and an active member of the Binghamton Society of Automotive Engineers Baja team. Joining the team in May 2024, his research focus is on multimaterial additive manufacturing.
Elijah Malach
Mechanical Engineering
Elijah is a junior at Binghamton University studying to get a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He joined the group in Fall 2024 and his research centers on utilizing the rate-dependent mechanical properties of polymers for developement of simplified mechanoresponsive signalling. Elijah enjoys playing the guitar and trumpet and loves everything outside.
Ethan Schoenblum
Mechanical Engineering
Ethan is a junior at Binghamton University working towards a BS in mechanical engineering. He is the vice president of Binghamton's chapter of the American Society of Engineering Education and an undergraduate course assistant in the first-year engineering labs. Ethan joined the team in February 2025 and is focused on designing experiments to observe the formation and degradation of micro- and nanoplastics.
Jacob Lazarus
Mechanical Engineering
Jacob is a sophomore at Binghamton University pursuing his B.S. in mechanical engineering. He is an active member of Binghamton’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the on-campus free format radio station WHRW Binghamton. Joining the group in March 2025, his research is focused on topographically toughening 3D printed surfaces.
Ben Morrow
Mechanical Engineering
Ben is a sophomore at Binghamton University working towards his B.S. in mechanical engineering. In his spare time, he enjoys resistance training and studying theology. He joined the group in March 2025 and is currently exploring the effects of topological constraints on the free energy functions of polymers using molecular dynamics.
Ivan Iciano
Mechanical Engineering
Ivan is a sophomore mechanical engineering student at Binghamton University. He is currently involved on campus with the National Society of Black Engineers and the Dominican Student Association. He joined the group in May 2025 to investigate the use of data-driven approaches for predicting the mechanical properties of polymers. In his free time, Ivan enjoys lifting weights, playing basket ball, and spending time with friends.
Positions Open
I am currently looking for qualified and motivated Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate researchers with interests in polymer mechanics, computational mechanics, latticed material design, and living systems.
For more information, please send me an email at robert.j.wagner@binghamton.edu with your updated CV and a brief description of your research interests.