Larry Howell

Prof. Ashok Midha, the “Father of Compliant Mechanisms” passed away on December 6, 2023. His work and example will continue to make an impact on the field of compliant mechanisms. He was the PhD advisor of the CMR’s Larry Howell, who wrote a personal tribute for Professor Midha, which can be found here:

Dr. Larry Howell visited Taiwan and China to interact with researchers, give invited talks and present a workshop. In Taiwan he led a hands-on origami workshop and gave a seminar at the D-School at Taiwan National University, gave an invited lecture at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. His host was Prof. Chin-Hsing Kuo of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Larry Howell, BYU professor of mechanical engineering, was recently honored with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Machine Design Award, one of the highest honors that the society can bestow upon its members.

Professor Larry Howell and Ph.D. student Shannon Zirbel of the BYU CMR, along with researchers from NASA JPL and Cal Tech, collaborated with Dr. Eric Homer and Matt Haris to write a paper on the use of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) in compliant mechanisms. BMGs have among the highest elastic strain limit of any metals and can be injection molded like polymers, making them ideal compliant mechanisms materials. This paper was featured on the front cover of Advanced Engineering Material’s most recent issue. Click here to read the paper.

The faculty of RWTH Aachen University in Germany nominated CMR professor Larry Howell to receive the Theodore von Kármán Fellowship. The fellowship funded an ERS International guest stay in Aachen Germany for a week in October, 2013. As part of the visit, Prof. Howell gave a presentation entitled “Opportunities and Challenges of Folding” as the opening speech at the “Fold-In” workshop at the Rolduc Abbey in Kerkrade, The Netherlands. Professor Howell also gave a guest lecture at RWTH Aachen University entitled “Origami-Inspired Applications of Compliant Mechanisms” and led a hands-on workshop “Origami-Adapted Compliant Mechanisms”. The visit also included personal interactions with researchers in Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, Textile Engineering, and Mathematics.

Mechanical Engineering professors Larry Howell and Spencer Magleby, along with Brian Olsen, a former student who now works at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, have recently edited an exciting new resource for engineers entitled, Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms.

Dr. Larry Howell was invited to present a keynote address at the 2013 Smart Structures/NDE Conference in San Diego California during March 10-14th.

Dr. Larry Howell was invited to visit China for two weeks in July 2012 where he was a keynote speaker at the ASME/IFToMM International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR2012) and lectured at Xidian University (in Xi’an) and Beihang University (in Beijing). While there he presented recent developments in compliant mechanism research, collaborated with other researchers and discussed the possible Chinese translation of the forthcoming Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms.

Technology licensed by BYU to Utah-based Crocker Spinal Technologies

Professors Larry Howell, Brian Jensen, and Spencer Magleby were invited presenters at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) / Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Workshop on “Compliant Mechanisms in Aerospace System Design” held adjacent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, March 26th and 27th.

Larry Howell, professor of mechanical engineering, spoke to students in a devotional address titled, “Faith: An Essential Principle of the Gospel.” Watch the talk now at http://www.byutv.org/watch/b2670564-e766-4c00-9f22-edda3e6078f1.

Mechanical Engineering Professor Dr. Larry Howell was a keynote speaker at the Second International Symposium on Compliant Mechanisms in Delft, The Netherlands, May 20, 2011.

Professor Larry Howell received the Mechanisms & Robotics Award in the Design Engineering Division at the 2009 American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Design Engineering Conference (IDETC) held in San Diego, California. The Mechanisms & Robotics Award is given by the ASME Design Engineering Division to a scholar in this field for cumulative contributions to the field of mechanism design or theory. Having continued distinction in this field is a prerequisite to receiving this prestigious honor; receiving this award denotes a lifetime of achievement in design engineering.