Dr. Lior Medina

Received both B.Sc. (2010) and M.Sc. (2012) Magna Cum Laude in mechanical engineering from Tel Aviv University. My M.Sc. thesis was on "Symmetry breaking in electrostatically loaded curved bistable microbeams", conducted under the combined supervision of Prof. Slava Krylov & Prof. Rivka Gilat. In December 2012 I began my Ph.D. studies at the same institution, expanding my studies to the investigation of stability properties in electrostatically operated bistable microdevices. The research was supported by one of the best fellowships in Israel, granted by the Israel Ministry of Science. Further support came from Broadcom and the Israel Science Foundation following successful proposal applications. Upon obtaining a Ph.D. and a successful application to the Tel-Aviv Uni. – Northwestern Uni. joint postdoctoral fellowship, I relocated to Northwestern University in October 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow, conducting research on Kirigami structures under the guidance of Prof. Espinoza. In October 2019 I have relocated to the University of Cambridge, following a successful application to the Blavatnik postdoctoral fellowship and worked on electrostatically multistable structures under the guidance of Prof. Seshia. In October 2021 I relocated back to Tel Aviv University as a Senior Lecturer.

My research lies in the field of nonlinear meta-micro-structures (MMS). More specifically structures that are the product of at least two fundamental structures, coupled together. The research combines both theoretical and experimental work, all for the purpose of for their studying the behaviour of such structures as well as the nature of their coupling, along with the development of characterisation methods.  The scope of the research encompasses applications in the realm of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), multistable structures and ultimately, energy harvesting.

L. Medina, R. Gilat, S. Krylov, “Symmetry breaking in an initially curved pre-stressed micro beam loaded by a distributed electrostatic force”, International Journal of Solids and Structures, vol. 51, no. 11, pp. 2047 – 2061, 2014

L. Medina, R. Gilat, B. R. Ilic, S. Krylov, “Experimental investigation of the snap-through buckling of electrostatically actuated initially curved pre-stressed micro beams”, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, vol. 220, no. 0, pp. 323 – 332, 2014. 

L. Medina, R. Gilat, S. Krylov, “Bouncing and dynamic trapping of a bistable curved micro beam actuated by a suddenly applied electrostatic force”, Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, vol. 36, pp. 273 – 284, 2016

L. Medina, R. Gilat, B. R. Ilic, S. Krylov, “Experimental dynamic trapping of electrostatically actuated bistable micro-beams”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 108, no. 7, pp. 273 – 284, 2016. 

L. Medina, R. Gilat, S. Krylov, “Necessary and sufficient criteria for bistability in electrostatically actuated initially curved pre-stressed micro-plates”, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, vol. 172, pp. 107255, 2022.

L. Medina, A. A. Seshia, “Bistability and simultaneous mode actuation in electrostatically actuated initially curved coupled micro beams”, International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 1035409, 2020. 

X. Zhang, L. Medina, H. Cai, V. Aksyuk, H. D. Espinosa, D. Lopez, “Kirigami engineering – Nanoscale structures exhibiting a range of controllable 3D configurations”, Advanced Materials, 2005275, 2020. 

N. Alderete, L. Medina, L. Lamberti, C. Sciammarella, H. D. Espinosa, “Programmable 3D structures via Kirigami engineering and controlled stretching”, Extreme Mechanics Letters, 33(5), 101146, 2021. 

L. Medina, A. A. Seshia, “Tristable properties and limit point behaviour in electrostatically actuated initially curved coupled micro beams”, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, vol. 204, 106543, 2021

L. Medina, A. A. Seshia, “Individual and combined static stabilities in electrostatically actuated initially curved coupled micro beams”, European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids, 2021 Nov 13:104460

L. Medina, “Global static and dynamic tristability in electrostatically actuated initially curved and weakly coupled double microbeams”, International Journal of Solids and Structures, vol. 277-278, pp. 112342, 2023.

L. Medina, “Unified dynamic bistability criteria in electrostatically actuated curved pre-stressed microbeams”, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, vol. 263, pp. 108765, 2023.