Welcome
Welcome to the website of the Dynamics Lab, Professor Oliver M. O’Reilly’s research group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Our research focuses on the dynamics of mechanical systems and frequently draws upon rigid body dynamics, continuum mechanics, robotics, and biology.
Current interests include discrete elastic rods, the dynamics of flexible risers, models for soft robot locomotion, and fluid-structure interaction. We use a combined analytical, computational, and experimental approach with the goal of elucidating the engineering science underpinning these problems.
Visit our Twitter feed and YouTube channel! You might also be interested in an online education resource on the mathematics of rotations.
Lab News
March 2025
Our paper explaining the challenge of accurately predicting the dynamics of a collapsing set of blocks such as a jenga tower or a stack of containers has just been published in Acta Mechanica.
November 2025
Excited to announce the publication of our new work exploring the interesting dynamics of transporting a pair of gas cylinders. A video summary of the paper can be found at this link.
August 2024
Congratulations to Theresa Honein (PhD, 2024) on completing her PhD and starting her new role as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the American University in Beirut.
February 2024
Thanks to Marni Ellery for the lovely article on the holonomy of a rolling sphere that was posted on the Berkeley Engineering Website.
January 2024
Excited to see our paper on the holonomy of a rolling sphere published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.