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Tian "Tim" Chen

@ttc.bsky.social
338 followers 122 following 72 posts

Assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering @UHouston. We design programmable materials.

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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
We just had a paper published in Nature Communications: standard semiconductor fabrication can turn flat, wafer-made patterns into stable, curved 3D structures -- a step from flexible toward deployable electronics. doi.org/10.1038/s414...
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New paper in @natcomms.nature.com! We used sound waves to vibrate a silicone mold during casting, imprinting tunable patterns of imperfections into thin shells. The shells then let us study how distributed imperfections trigger buckling. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See reply for videos!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
A student sent me this, it's too good not to share.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New in PNAS: we 3D-printed "knits" as 3D entangled solids with programmable stiffness & dissipation. We unify the mechanics of traditional and printed knits across materials and scales - down to loops 50 µm across, the smallest knit ever fabricated. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
To my students, thank you all for presenting me the most prestigious award of all!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Reminder to submit your abstract, due May 1, to MS 4.2 - Advances on the Mechanics of Architected Materials, at SES at Purdue, Oct 11-14, 2026. Looking forward to a great lineup w/ organizers @carlosmportela.bsky.social, Lucas Meza, David Restrepo and Christelle Combescure.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Society of Engineering Science (SES) conf. 2026 will be held at Purdue University Oct. 11-14, 2026. Abstract submission deadline: May 1, 2026. Interested in Architected Materials? Consider submitting an abstract to our mini-symposium 4.2! @carlosmportela.bsky.social, Meza, Restrepo, Combescure
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
😆😆😆
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
The deadline is literally tomorrow (Jan 31). Last chance!!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
My third time at GRC Multifunctional Materials and Structures in Ventura, and I’m giving a talk this time around. It’s gonna be fun.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” —George Orwell (1984)
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
For those of you interested in the area of Mechanics of Architected Materials, please join us at USNC-TAM 2026 in sunny Pasadena from June 21-25, 2026 (co-organized with @carlosmportela.bsky.social, Shaikeea, and Meza). Submit your abstract to MS502 by Jan 15: www.usnctam26.org/abstract-sub...
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
@uh.edu magazine featured our research in its Fall 2025 issue! stories.uh.edu/magazine/mag...
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
It is sad to have read that Frank Gehry died today. At some point, I learnt that we both went to Bloor Collegiate Institute, which was a high school in the west end of Toronto. The school building itself has since been demolished as well... www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...
nytimes.com
Frank O. Gehry, Titan of Architecture, Is Dead at 96
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Nikolaos @CornellMAE is giving us @UHEngineering a great talk on sciML!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
It was great to host @LaurenDreier from Princeton @UH_Engineering last weekend where we began experimenting with 3D weaving techniques. She gave a great seminar in the department, and gave us a tour of her art pieces at the APS's DFD Traveling Gallery of Fluid Motion @nl_longnecker.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
We present a unified, multi-scale framework connecting yarn mechanics, stitch geometry, and fabric-level behavior in a new paper published in Extreme Mechanics Letters www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... Another great collaboration with Cosima du Pasquier, Allison Okamura and Skylar Tibbits.
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Jacinta Conrad @jcconrad.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I am … grateful? … that Harvard’s Graduate School Fund reached out to me with a fundraising solicitation yesterday, because it helped me to organize my thoughts on an event near the end of my PhD (2005). Here is my response, just emailed to the fundraisers: (1/9)
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
This is exciting. Thank you for inviting me!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Concluding our mini-symposium with Julia Greer giving a talk to a full house at ses2025!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
On Monday, I am co-hosting three sessions. Come listen to the exciting talks on the advances on mechanical metamaterials!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
I am here with my students (Yue Wang and Ilyes Krida) at SES2025 hosted by @gatechengineers.bsky.social in Atlanta, GA! I am co-hosting 6.1: Advances on the Mechanics of Architected Materials, come attend our talks!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
This is cool!
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Fani Derveni @faniderveni.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
📢 I am so excited to share that I joined @cornelluniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor this August, and our Scalable MetaStructures Laboratory (SCALE Lab) is starting up! Can’t wait to share more as we grow our team and lab—we are hiring!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Lovely to be attending a workshop on the “mathematics and physics of entangled metamaterials” in at Tohoku forum for creativity in Sendai, Japan. Thanks to Sam Poincloux for the invitation!
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Mark Pauly @markpauly.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Our new ACM SIGGRAPH paper has received the Best Paper honorable mention, placing it among the top 5% of papers in an already very selective program. C-Tubes: Design and Optimization of Tubular Structures Composed of Developable Strips More info on the project: go.epfl.ch/c-tubes
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Mark Pauly @markpauly.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Inverse Geometric Locomotion allows discovering optimal articulations for robots in dissipative media. The 4-triangle robot "learns" how to flap its wings to move forward or to rotate. The snake-like robot automatically adapts its articulation when a joint is broken. More info: go.epfl.ch/igl
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Congratulations, great news !!
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I love the whistling at the end
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University of Houston @uh.edu · 06/04/2025
HOUSTON IS GOING TO ITS FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SINCE 1984! #FinalFour #ForTheCity
Graphic with photos of Milos Uzan, L.J. Cryer, J’Wan Roberts and Coach Kelvin Sampson with text that reads “championship bound.”
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Looking forward to the 2025 SES Meeting in Atlanta, Oct. 12-15, 2025! Please contribute to our symp. "6.1 Mechanics of Architected Materials" before 5/15 - we'll discuss key opportunities+advancements in architected material research. Exp.+Comp.+Theory welcome! @carlosmportela.bsky.social
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Mark Pauly @markpauly.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Please share widely: The Symposium on Advances in Architectural Geometry (AAG) will be hosted at MIT in Boston this year from Nov. 16-19! More information: www.aag2025.com The conference will be back-to-back with the Symposium on Computational Fabrication (scf.acm.org/2025/)
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
There are moments in these deportation fights when I can just FEEL how pissed off they are that I’m Puerto Rican 😂 they want to threaten me with it so bad 😂
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Paul J. Dauenhauer @pauldauenhauer.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Here you can see all of the positions your PI takes to fund the group
Yoga spine positions
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#RealTimeChem @realtimechem.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
#ChemTogether. Forever. #RealTimeChem #ChemSky #Chemistry
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Same!!
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Yes, this administration is dangerous and cruel, but they are also shockingly dim and incompetent. Opportunities are everywhere. Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
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Jacinta Conrad @jcconrad.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Received this email from my chair tonight (🧵, 1/6): "The DOE has issued new guidance indicating that, until further notice, there will be delays in any funding actions. Here’s what this means for projects pending or already awarded by DOE: 1. Pending Proposals: Awards will be postponed. ...
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
One thing about me is that I will fight Nazis until I’m six feet in the ground.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
I miss snow. But this feels allegorical.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
We developed a experimental & numerical framework for programmable CNC knitted fabrics. By tuning stitch length, pattern, and yarn, we can precisely engineer mechanical behavior - leading to the first industrially knit sleeve optimized for fit & function. arxiv.org/abs/2501.07567
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PHD Comics @phdcomics.com · 11/01/2025
Amen.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 29/12/2024
Jimmy Carter left office in 1981 as one of the most unpopular presidents in modern times, seemingly doomed to be remembered as a failed commander in chief. His presidency is now treated more kindly by many historians, in part because of what he did after leaving office.
nytimes.com
How Jimmy Carter’s Legacy Evolved After His Presidency
The 39th president left the White House with his popularity in tatters. But four decades later, he is judged more kindly, in part for what he did after leaving office.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
We showcase a wearable sleeve that can deliver diverse haptic cues including social touch gestures. Thanks to Cosima, Lavender, Ian, Liana, Skylar Tibbits and Allison Okamura for including me on this! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Haptiknit: Distributed stiffness knitting for wearable haptics
Distributed stiffness knitted textiles enable salient haptic cues from embedded pneumatic actuators in a wearable form factor.
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Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
How about an academic post? Excited to share my solo-authored work published today in Science Robotics (@science.org). I detailed the importance of intentionality in creating diverse and equitable spaces within robotics, drawing from my own experiences. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Promoting diverse and inclusive spaces with intentionality
Developing spaces that foster and embrace diverse perspectives and backgrounds with intentionality benefits everyone involved.
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Tim Wick, a meme from my undergrad class.
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Paul J. Dauenhauer @pauldauenhauer.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Mom: What’s it like being a professor? Me: It’s like a merry-go-round Mom: Sounds nice Me: I’m not finished
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
And where reputable journalists and thinkers go, so do elected officials. I’ve been getting asked lately about a more serious + systemic migration to Bluesky among electeds. Idk the answer but it highlights how much of a breaking point misinfo & throttling has become for Twitter(& other platforms)
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Tian "Tim" Chen @ttc.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Having a coffee at Mercantile. It’s been a nice Thanksgiving.
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