Dr. Eva Kanso

Biography

Eva Kanso is a professor and the Z.H. Kaprielian Fellow in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California. She joined the Division of Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) as an IPA rotator for the National Science Foundation in Fall 2021. Prior to joining USC in 2005, Kanso held a two-year postdoctoral position in Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Caltech. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, an M.A. degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned her Bachelor of Engineering degree from the American University of Beirut with distinction. Her research focuses on fundamental problems in biophysics, cellular and subcellular processes, and animal behavior, emphasizing the role of the mechanical environment, specifically fluid medium and fluid-structure interactions, in driving biological functions. She established the Bioinspired Motion Lab at USC to investigate applications in bio-inspired aerial and aquatic locomotion, with a focus on autonomous soft robotic vehicles, engineering design, and collective behavior, as well as biophysical modeling of bacterial ciliary systems for biomedical flows and microfluidic transport.

Research Interests

Awards