Andrew Lee, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University, has received a highly competitive Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation to support groundbreaking research on the behavior of deployable shell structures—innovative systems critical to the future of space exploration, robotics and adaptive vehicles.
The award supports Lee’s project, which seeks to unravel the fundamental mechanics behind propagating instabilities—the complex folding and motion behaviors that occur during the deployment of tightly packaged thin-shell structures. These shells are valued for their exceptional stiffness-to-mass ratios and potential to stow elastically and self-deploy efficiently, but excessive packaging can lead to unpredictable, chaotic motions that risk failure or damage.
“The outcomes are anticipated to include new design principles for future deployable and adaptive structures that will advance the frontiers of space exploration, robotics, and morphing vehicles.”
Lee’s team will use a combined experimental and computational approach to produce motion response maps and strain energy stability landscapes that reveal how instabilities propagate, interact, and can be controlled. These maps will explore key behaviors such as fold convergence, divergence, reflection and bifurcation. A second phase of the research will explore packaging strategies and material design modifications that mitigate chaotic deployment and improve reliability, particularly in composite and curved shell structures.
The broader impacts of the award extend beyond academia. Lee’s program will also provide research internships for high school students, hands-on experiences for undergraduate researchers, and interactive exhibits at local STEM events and museums, inspiring future generations of engineers and scientists.
The NSF CAREER Award is one of the most prestigious honors in support of early-career faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, education, and the integration of both.
This award was granted based on NSF’s criteria of intellectual merit and broader societal impacts, reflecting the agency’s mission to support work that advances science and benefits the public.