eMACS Lab · Electromagnetically Active Composites and Structures
Materials that respond to fields.
In the Electro-Magnetically Active Composites and Structures (eMACS) Lab, we design, analyze, and fabricate materials that respond to magnetic and electric fields, then turn them into actuators, pumps and medical devices to solve complex engineering problems.
Rod-shaped particles turn to follow the field of a moving magnet. Move your pointer over the box to steer it.
University of Maryland,
Baltimore County
3D Printing · Smart Materials
& Structures · Medical Devices
Professor Paris von Lockette
ASME Fellow
Research directions
From material structure to useful motion.
Connecting the physics of active materials with the processes and devices that make them useful.
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01 / Materials
Electromagnetically active composites
We study how particle organization and soft polymer matrices govern energy conversion and mechanical response.
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02 / Processing
Field-directed manufacturing
We use processing conditions, 3D printing and applied fields to build material architectures with tailored properties.
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03 / Applications
Soft actuators & medical devices
We turn material behavior into actuators, a peristaltic blood pump, heart-assist and surgical devices, and design rules learned from climbing plants.
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Chat with Dr. von Lockette
Looking for a research group?
Undergraduate, master's and PhD students are welcome. Most undergraduates start on an existing project and take on their own piece within a semester or two.
Seven undergraduate researchers, each on a live project.- Ben Bazarsuren presents plant-inspired reinforcement work at ASME SMASIS 2026 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Addisyn Houey spends six weeks at the livMatS Center in Freiburg, Germany, on an NSF-sponsored summer research internship.
- Four undergraduates present at UMBC's Summer Undergraduate Research Fest.
- Widdowson et al. publish a framework for predicting properties from multifield processing, in Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation.
- Christian Bergen earns his PhD from Penn State.
- U.S. Patent 12,201,288 issued for a free motion laparoscopic surgical system.