Daniel H. Cortes, Ph.D. is the principal investigator of the Biomechanics and Imaging Lab. Dr. Cortes is a mechanical engineer who received his undergraduate and masters degree from Universidad del Valle, in Cali, Colombia. He completed his Ph.D. studies in 2009 at West Virginia University; then, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the school of medicine of the University of Pennsylvania until 2011. After this, he became a research professor at the biomedical engineering department of the University of Delaware. He joined the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Penn State University in August of 2015.
Ali Sadeghi is currently a PhD student of the Biomechanics and Imaging Lab. Ali is a mechanical engineer who obtained his undergraduate and masters degree from Amirkabir University of Technology. He completed his masters degree in 2013 where he graduated with the highest GPA of all master’s students. He then worked as a research assistant at the Mechanical Engineering department of The University of Sydney until 2016. He started his PhD program at the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Penn State University in August of 2016.
Heer Patel is currently a Masters student on a PhD track in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Heer received a dual undergraduate degree with latin honours in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in May 2018. She has worked as a research assistant as an undergraduate at UMass and was a Toshiba-Westinghouse Fellow at Penn State during the summer of 2017. In her free time, Heer likes to read, be outdoors, and travel.
Gabi Schwartz is currently a Senior at Penn State pursuing her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Biomechanics. She previously did research at a biotech industry working with colon cancer cells and drug development. Within the lab she plans to explore the mechanical properties of the ACL and attain more lab experience in her selected field. Following graduation. Gabi hopes to enter grad school and obtain her PhD in Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Engineering.
Former Students
Sean Rothenberger is currently a Junior at Penn State pursuing his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his research experience in this lab through the Shuman Scholarship, which aims to engage undergraduate engineering students who are interested in conducting research in the future. Following graduation, Sean hopes to continue his education as a graduate student and help to conduct research in similar Biomedical labs.