27 Magnus Avenue, Apt. #2 ● Somerville, MA 02143 ● 817-320-3328 jgafford@seas.harvard.edu ● weebly.com/joshuagafford
Education: Harvard University
Candidate for Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering/Medical Devices, June 2016 Cambridge, MA
Relevant Courses: Advanced Dynamics and Control (MIT), Physics Electronics Laboratory, Statistics, Microfabrication
Laboratory, Design of Medical Devices, Advanced Robotics, Digital Control of Dynamic Systems (MIT), System
Identification, Estimation and Learning (MIT)
Overall GPA: 4.0/4.0
Stanford University
Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, June 2012
Stanford, CA
Relevant Courses: Intro to MEMS/NEMS, Project-Based Product Design, Linear Algebra with Application to Engineering
Computation, Introduction to Robotics, Partial Differential Equations, Numerical Methods for Engineers, Intro to Sensors,
Finite Element Analysis I and II, Numerical Computation of Compressible Flow, Intro to Mechatronics
Overall GPA: 3.8/4.0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, June 2010
Cambridge, MA
Relevant Courses: Dynamics and Control I & II, Mechanics of Materials I & II, Thermal Fluids Engineering I & II,
Advanced Fluid Mechanics, Design and Manufacturing I & II, Mechanical Engineering Tools, Micro/Nano Engineering
Lab, Development of Mechanical Products, Engineering Measurement and Instrumentation, Elements in Mechanical
Design, Precision Machine Design, Power Electronics Laboratory, Differential Equations, Physics (Mechanics and E&M),
Calculus
Overall GPA: 4.6/5.0
( Major GPA: 4.76/5.0
)
Research: Harvard BioDesign Laboratory Cambridge, MA
Ph.D Student

Developing advanced manufacturing techniques to build smaller, smarter and more dexterous medical devices.

Employing novel microfabrication techniques to build sensors and actuators at mmscales.
Stanford Department of Mechanical Engineering Stanford, CA
Graduate Design Student Performing Research for Thales Optronics, 2010-2011

Worked with a team of students from Stanford University and ParisTech on a local situational awareness (LSA) project sponsored by Thales Optronics

Performed user testing, needfinding, and background research; designed, built prototypes to study the application of LSA in the civilian sector
MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering Cambridge, MA
Designer and Manufacturer of Hybrid Optical and CT Scanner, Fall 2009/Spring 2010

Worked with a small team in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital to design and manufacture a 360degree optical imaging device capable of interfacing with current flat-panel CT scanners for detection of cancerous tumors in the head and neck region

Presented and demonstrated functioning proof-of-concept to clinicians, biomedical engineers, and fellow engineers at the CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology) forum
MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering Cambridge, MA
Precision Compliant Systems Laboratory Researcher, Fall 2009/Spring 2010

Investigated feasibility of CNC micromilling as a process to fabricate flexural-based mesoscale nanopositioners specifically developed at MIT for MEMS applications
 Wrote Bachelor’s thesis entitled “Fabrication of High-Quality Microflexures Using Micromilling Techniques”
MIT Department of Aeronautics/Aerospace Cambridge, MA
Undergraduate Researcher, Fall 2009/Spring 2010

Worked with a small team to design the second-generation analog of airbag attenuation system to replace current
Crew Impact Attenuation System (CIAS) aboard NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)

Performed mechanical design, analysis, fabrication, and characterization of flapper valve for pressure release

Experience: Space Exploration Technologies
Structures Manufacturing Intern, Fall 2011

Created work orders and engineering masters for Dragon capsule

Designed hardware for flight and R&D

Performed structural analysis using first principles and finite element methods
Hawthorne, CA
The Aerospace Corporation El Segundo, CA
Control Systems Technology Intern, Summer 2011 and Summer 2012

Digital synchronous data acquisition and processing using LabVIEW FPGA.

Performance evaluation, noise quantification of fiber-optic gyroscopes using MATLAB and LabVIEW

Aided in the mechanical design of a test fixture to gauge the stiffness properties of harmonic drives

Mathematical modeling and stability analyses of missile nozzle control loop using Simulink

Created high-fidelity, 5-DOF physical model of ballistic missile dynamics for covariance estimation in Simulink
Hunt Energy Horizons Dallas, TX
Engineering Intern, Summer 2009

Performed background research and technical analysis of potential alternative energy investments

Created solar power output and cash-flow model in Excel, performed pre-feasibility assessment of photovoltaic solar implementation at a company-owned ranch
Teaching ME220: Introduction to Sensors (Stanford University): Course teaching assistant
ES227: Medical Device Design (Harvard University): Course teaching assistant. Received Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching based on student feedback.
Press Releases: “MIT Students Create New Medical Devices” Published on Product Design and Development (pddnet.com) on
01/30/2013 <http://www.pddnet.com/news/2013/01/mit-students-create-new-medical-devices>
“Winning Medical Device Designs from Harvard Engineering Students” Published on
(pddnet.com) on 05/27/2014
Product Design and Development
<http://www.pddnet.com/news/2014/05/winning-medical-device-designs-harvard-engineering-students>
Patents: Pop-Up Laminate Surgical Tools, Electrode Arrays, Magnetic Actuators and Integrated Electronics. Walsh, C., Wood, R.,
Dubrovsky, Z., Gafford, J., Goldberg, B., Karpelson, M., Kesner, S., O'Donnell, K., Smith, M. Provisional Patent No.
61/862,066 filed in August 2013
Skills:
Alcon Laboratories Fort Worth, TX
Engineering Intern, Summer 2008 & 2010

Observed and performed tests to re-create environmental stress cracking phenomena in injection-molded droplet bottles due to stresses caused by press-fit interference

Performed statistical analysis on incoming injection-molded part dimensions
CAD (SolidWorks, Unigraphics, AutoCAD), CAM (MasterCAM, HSMWorks), FEA (CosmosWorks FEA, ANSYS),
Analysis (MATLAB/Simulink, MathCAD, Microsoft Excel), Data Acquisition (LabVIEW), Programming (Java, Excel
VBA, Arduino/C), Machining (mills, lathes, CNC, etc.)
Activities:
Awards:
Member of ASME, ASPE, and Sigma Xi Honor Society, MIT Varsity Soccer Team, MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team
Grand Prize for talk, “Monolithic Fabrication of Millimeter-Scale Surgical Devices with Integrated Sensing,”
Competition , Design of Medical Devices Conference, University of Minnesota, 2014
3-in-5
Grand Prize for talk, “Smart Micro-Instruments for Advanced Intraluminal Interventions,”
Competition , Design of Medical Devices Conference, University of Minnesota, 2014
MILI Innovation Valuation
3 rd
Place for poster, “Shape Deposition Manufacturing of a Deployable, Atraumatic Grasper for Minimally-Invasive
Surgery,”
International Student Design Competition , Design of Medical Devices Conference, University of Minnesota,
2014
Honors: Harvard Pierce Fellow, Harvard Armstrong Fellow, NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Soccer Team, Pi Tau Sigma
Mechanical Engineering Honor Society Candidate

Journal: Gafford, J.B.; Walsh, C.J.; Wood, R.J.; “Self-assembling, low-cost and modular mm-scale force sensor.” IEEE Sensors
(submitted) , 2015
Gafford, J.B.; Kesner, S.B.; Walsh, C.J.; Wood, R.J.; “Monolithic Manufacturing of Micro/Meso-Scale Surgical Devices with Embedded Mechanisms, Sensors and Actuators.” International Journal of Robotics Research (submitted) , 2015
Gafford, J.B.; Ding, Y.; Harris, A.; McKenna, T.; Polygerinos, P.; Holland, D.; Walsh, C.J.; Moser, A.J.; “Shape
Deposition Manufacturing of a Soft, Atraumatic, and Deployable Surgical Grasper” ASME Journal of Mechanisms and
Robotics, 2015
Conference: Gafford, J.B.; Kesner, S.B.; Wood, R.J.; Walsh, C.J.; “Monolithic Fabrication of Millimeter-Scale Surgical Devices with
Integrated Sensing” ASME Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN: 2014
Gafford, J.B.; Ding, Y.; Harris, A.; McKenna, T.; Polygerinos, P.; Holland, D.; Moser, A.J.; Walsh, C.; “Shape
Deposition Manufacturing of a Soft, Atraumatic, Deployable Surgical Grasper” ASME Design of Medical Devices
Conference. Minneapolis, MN: 2014
Gafford, J.B.; Kesner, S.; Degirmenci, A.; Wood, R.; Howe, R.; Walsh, C.; “A Monolithic Approach To Fabricating
Millimeter-Scale Multiaxis Force Sensors for Minimally-Invasive Surgery” Proc. of IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation. Hong Kong, China: 2014
Gafford, J.B.; Kesner, S.B.; Wood, R.J.; Walsh, C.J.; “Force-Sensing Surgical Grasper Enabled by Pop-Up Book
MEMS.” Proc. of IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Robots and Systems Conference. Tokyo, Japan: 2013
Gafford, J.B.; Kesner, S.B.; Wood, R.J.; Walsh, C.J.; “Microsurgical Devices by Pop-Up Book MEMS.” Proc. of ASME
IDETC/CIE. Portland, Oregon: 2013
Gafford, J. B.; Panas, R. M.; Cullinan, M. A.; Culpepper, M. L., “Design Principles and Practices for Rapid-Prototyping of Meso- and Micro-Scale Flexures via Micromilling.” Proc. of the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Precision
Engineering , 2010
Gafford, J.; Schneider, J., “Mechanical Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost, Modular, Mobile Gantry for Non-Invasive
Medical Applications.”
Proc. of ASME IDETC/MECH. Washington D.C.: 2011
Cullinan, M. A.; Panas, R. M.; Gafford, J. B.; Culpepper, M. L., “Non-cleanroom Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube-Based
MEMS Force and Displacement Sensors.” Proc. of ASME IDETC/MECH. Washington D.C.: 2011
Other Watkins, A.A.; Gafford, J.B.; Ding, Y.; Harris, A.; McKenna, T.; Polygerinos, P.; Holland, D.; Walsh, C.J.; Moser, A.J.;
“Shape Deposition Manufacturing of a “Smart,” Atraumatic, Deployable Grasper for Minimally-Invasive Pancreas
Surgery.” SAGES Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN: 2015.
Bartlett, N.; Lyau, V.; Raiford, W.; Holland, D.; Gafford, J.B.; Ellis, T.; Walsh, C.J.; “A Soft Robotic Orthosis for Wrist
Rehabilitation.” ASME Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN: 2015
Malka, R.; Rosen, M.; Ku, S.; Thornycroft, P.; Gafford, J.B.; Holland, D.; Vasilyev, N.; del Nido, P.; Walsh, C.J.; “An
Access-Closure Device for Beating Heart Surgery.” ASME Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN:
2015.
Bae, J.; Lee, J.; Malley, M.; Gafford, J.B.; Holland, D.; Vogt, D.; Menguc, Y.; Bean, J.; Walsh, C.J.; “A Soft, Wearable,
Quantitative Ankle Diagnostic Device.” ASME Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN: 2015.
Presentations: “New Possibilities for Surgical Robotic End-Effectors.” Smart Surgical Devices Workshop , Hamlyn Symposium, 2015
“Robust, Low-Cost, and Modular mm-scale force sensors.” Hamlyn Symposium, 2015
“Monolithic Fabrication of Millimeter-Scale Surgical Devices with Integrated Sensing,” 3-in-5 Competition , Design of
Medical Devices Conference, University of Minnesota, 2014
“Smart Micro-Instruments for Advanced Intraluminal Interventions,” MILI Innovation Valuation Competition , Design of
Medical Devices Conference, University of Minnesota, 2014
“A Soft Pneumatic Glove for Hand Rehabilitation.” IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Robots and Systems Symposium on
Rehabilitation Devices. Tokyo, Japan, 2013. (Presented on behalf of Panagiotis Polygerinos)

“Force-Sensing Surgical Grasper Enabled by Pop-Up Book MEMS.” IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Robots and Systems
Symposium on Surgical Devices. Tokyo, Japan, 2013.
“Microsurgical Devices by Pop-Up Book MEMS.” ASME/IDETC Symposium on Bio-inspired and Health-Motivated
Robotics and Mechanisms. Portland, Oregon, 2013.
“Mobile Optical Imaging Gantry.” CIMIT Forum, Charles-MGH Hospital, Boston, MA. 2010
“Mechanical Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost, Modular, Mobile Gantry for Non-Invasive Medical Applications.”
ASME IDETC/MECH Conference, Washington DC, 2011.