The Grainger College of Engineering

Ann Sychterz

Ann Sychterz
Ann Sychterz
  • Assistant Professor
  • Faculty Affiliate, Mechanical Science and Engineering
(217) 244-6148
2122 Newmark Civil Engineering Building

For More Information

Education

  • Ph.D., Advisor: Ian F.C. Smith. "Biomimetic Adaptive Control of a Deployable Tensgrity Structure". Civil Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, 2018.
  • M.A.Sc., Advisors: Sriram Narasimhan and Scott Walbridge. "Vibration Characterization of Aluminum Pedestrian Bridges". Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2014.
  • B.A.Sc., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2012.

Biography

Ann Sychterz (SICK-tesh) obtained her PhD in 2018 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) addressing the novel use of control algorithms, statistical diagnostic tools, and real-time feedback on a full-scale tensegrity structure to enable smooth deployability, damage detection, adaptation, and learning. During her masters of applied science obtained in 2014 at the University of Waterloo, she built full-scale aluminum pedestrian bridges for vibration characterization and control. She completed a postdoctoral position at the University of Michigan on actuator optimization of adaptive origami structures. With her team at Sychterz Modular Adaptive Resilient Transformable Infrastructure (SMARTI) lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, they harness geometrically nonlinear systems, such as tensegrity structures and origami, for adaptive civil infrastructure. She is a faculty affiliate with Mechanical Science and Engineering, faculty fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and a faculty affiliate of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in the Autonomous Materials Systems group.

Academic Positions

  • International Visiting Professor, Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture", University of Stuttgart, 06/2024 - 08/2024
  • Faculty Affiliate, Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 08/2022 - Present
  • Faculty Fellow, ORMIR, Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 08/2021 - 07/2022
  • Levenick Sustainable Teaching Fellow, Institute for Sustainability Energy and Environment, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 02/2021 - 01/2022
  • Faculty Affiliate, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 10/2020 - Present
  • Faculty Fellow, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 07/2020 - Present
  • Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 01/2020 - Present
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Advisor: Evgueni Filipov. Civil Engineering, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 02/2019 - 12/2019

Professional Registrations

  • Licensed Professional Engineer, Province of Ontario, 2024-present

Teaching Statement

Teaching Philosophy

I seek to engage my students in a dynamic and inclusive learning environment, where I continuously assess student involvement through verbal and visual cues, tailor lesson delivery using diverse media, and empower my students to personally grapple with complex concepts so they can ultimately make the material their own. I have developed much about my teaching philosophy by investing in ASCE ExCEEd teaching workshop experiences, emulating key traits of my teaching mentors, and instructing swing dancing across the world for eighteen years. To ensure that students of all levels develop core competency, I employ analogies – with broad, medium, and fine levels of detail – to connect technical ideas with common life experiences. I believe teaching is grounded in relationships, so I seek to let my students know that I care holistically about their well-being. To enhance connections with my students, I create a playlist of favorite songs (theirs and mine) to play before class, and if students guess mine, they get to pick their time slot for project presentations. At the beginning of a semester, I clearly convey learning objectives and course expectations for my entire course, so students can understand the purpose and value of all activities and requirements. As a structural engineering educator, I aim to instill in my students a deep knowledge of fundamental behavior coupled with skills to translate it into practical design applications. I am gratified to see my students’ appreciation for my instruction, which is reflected by increasing ratings since my start in January 2020. I have proudly been on the “List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students” every semester from Spring 2022 through Spring 2025 (when the evaluation process stopped publishing this list).

Teaching Portfolio

CEE 465: Design of Structural Systems

From the start of my journey as a professor, the senior-level project-based undergraduate integrated design course entitled “Design of Structural Systems” has been my core teaching focus. This course connects my strength in structural mechanics and behavior with my experience in professional engineering design and enables me to teach my students about the essential theory-to-practice nature of structural engineering. Modeling a design office environment, students are divided into teams of 5-6 based on an initial survey of their previous academic and industry experience. Throughout the semester, I guide them through the structural and foundation design process for a new building on campus, starting with real architectural plans from the design firm. We interact regularly with the structural engineer who designed the building, and the students receive their first major exposure to an open-ended real-world design problem. They are stretched by the uncomfortable reality that there are many possible design solutions, so I make special effort to teach them about process and convergence to a good – although never perfect – solution. The course is structured around team deliverable deadlines, with iterative design baked into the project deliverables, as well as progress presentations, preliminary and final reports, consultation with the client/architect, and team self-evaluations. I have seen fruits of my labor in the students’ maturation and through my official course feedback in recent years.

CEE 467: Masonry Design

In Summer 2021 and Spring 2025, I designed a modern version of a longstanding CEE structural engineering course on masonry design. I interacted with the retired faculty colleague who taught the course for many years so that I could retain the foundational technical elements, and then I wrote my own curriculum, notes, exams, and project deliverables. Consistent with my belief in project-based learning, I crafted a project that investigates the UIUC Campus Instructional Facility, which has a steel structural system, using a masonry structural system instead. Students have responded enthusiastically to this approach, with one saying: “I felt that using a real building example for the project design made it more real and was a good simulation for industry.” This course is now in my regular teaching rotation.

CEE498: Theory and Creation of Structure

In Fall 2022, I had the honor of co-teaching – with William Baker, Consulting Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – on the broad topic of joining creativity with rigorous yet accessible structural mechanics. Key topics included geometric stiffness, gridshells, origami, tensegrity structures, graphic statics, and reciprocal structures. Through this course, I learned to refine my responses to student questions and reframe problems in different ways to meet student learning needs.

CEE 595 SRS: Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar

Since Spring 2022, I have been the seminar series coordinator for the Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems (SRIS) interdisciplinary program. Running at least two events per semester, I coordinate an external faculty speaker, invite new UIUC CEE faculty to the SRIS program, organize panels of faculty to discuss a relevant topic, and invite graduate students to give practice presentations prior to their thesis defense. My organization of these seminars has been highly ranked by the students.

Student Mentoring

Undergraduate and Graduate Research

The Sychterz Modular Adaptive Resilient Transformable Infrastructure (SMARTI) lab started in January 2020 and has been actively supporting funded research and semester projects for PhD, MS, and undergraduate students. SMARTI lab combines structural engineering with architecture, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering to study large-scale controllable structures. I have graduated 2 PhD students, now with postdoctoral positions, and 7 MS thesis students with jobs in top engineering firms, have mentored 17 undergraduate students, and a postdoctoral researcher is now a tenure-track assistant professor at Aarhus University in Denmark. My research team has active and funded educational research on virtual reality immersive experiences for civil, structural, and architectural engineering education that engages undergraduate and graduate students. I meet with my students on a weekly basis to discuss their research progress, advancement in their courses, upcoming dissemination of research findings at conferences, and overall mental health and wellbeing. In lab, I am currently mentoring 1 postdoctoral researcher, 1 PhD student, 2 MS thesis students, and 2 undergraduate students. My goal is to keep communication fluid, low-stress, and transparent so that the lab environment is encouraging and productive, with concerns and needs addressed as they arise. In addition to our regular formal and informal in-person interactions, I manage our lab’s Discord channel, which provides a near-real-time mode of interaction with my students. 

Student Teams

I am the proud faculty advisor and mentor for the Structural Engineering Association of Illinois (SEAOI) UIUC student chapter since Fall 2025, and I meet with the leadership team regularly. I served as the technical mentor for the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Steel Bridge Student Competition (2024), the administrative/technical mentor for the Illinois Solar Decathlon (2025), and the technical mentor for a student group interested in the Masonry Arch Competition (2021-2022). 

High School Summer Outreach

In the summers of 2020, 2021, and 2022, I facilitated the CEE structural engineering branch of the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) camp. This camp focused on providing students from underserved communities with engaging activities, even mailed to their homes during the pandemic, to stimulate their creative STEM thinking. I engaged my graduate students as assistant facilitators with me to run my camp module on adaptive structures using boba straws and rubber bands.

Education Committee Service

I have been a member of the Society for Women Engineers UIUC branch, where I worked with the local chapter on weekend events such as mother-daughter science workshops. I am also a member of the Structural Engineers Associate of Illinois (SEAOI) on the Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE) committee, which plans events that connect practicing engineers with undergraduate and graduate students preparing to enter professional practice. As a member of ASCE, I am the vice-chair of the SEI Young Professionals Committee, focused on addressing pain points and elevating young graduates in their journey of engineering practice.

Resident Instruction

  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2026 (54 students) FLEX
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Spring 2026 (24 students) FLEX
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Fall 2025 (19 students) FLEX
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Fall 2025 (29 students) FLEX
  • CEE 467 Masonry Structures, Spring 2025 (38 students), ICES 3.63, 3.63
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Spring 2025 (27 students), ICES 4.25, 4.22
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Fall 2024 (19 students), ICES 4.32, 4.47
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Fall 2024 (24 students), ICES 4.5, 4.5
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2024 (23 students), ICES 4.55, 4.45
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Spring 2024 (17 students), ICES 4.33, 4.43
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Fall 2023 (27 students), ICES 4.09, 4.03
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Fall 2023 (21 students), ICES 4.64, 4.36
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2023 (23 students), ICES 3.48, 3.76
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Spring 2023 (17 students), ICES 4.70. 4.60
  • CEE 498 Theory and Creation of Structure, Fall 2022 (10 students), ICES 4.40, 4.60
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Fall 2022 (18 students), ICES 4.78, 4.80
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2022 (23 students), ICES 4.10, 4.33
  • CEE 595 Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems Seminar, Spring 2022 (15 students), ICES 4.56, 4.56
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Fall 2021 (12 students), ICES 3.45, 3.64
  • CEE 467 Masonry Structures, Summer 2021 (19 students), ICES 4.26, 4.11
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2021 (29 students), ICES 2.85, 3.08
  • CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems, Spring 2020 (28 students), ICES 2.68, 2.89

Course Development

  • CEE 465 - Design of Structural Systems Contributions: Design of Structural Systems Contributions: Added content on green building practices and sustainability, engineering law and ethics for practice, and a Virtual Reality lab to complement module on load path.
  • CEE 498 - Theory and Creation of Structure Contributions: Theory and Creation of Structure Contributions: This course was heavily revised from its initial offering in Fall 2021. New sections were added for my lectures on the mechanics of tensegrity structures, origami structures, and kinematics. I revised the homework assignments and designed new midterm and final examinations for this co-taught offering of the course with Bill Baker.
  • CEE 467 - Masonry Structures Contributions: This course was revised and the course content was updated, including creation of: learning objectives, new in-class notes, semester project, and new assessments.

Student Organizations

  • Faculty Advisor, Structural Engineering Association of Illinois UIUC Student Chapter, 2025- present
  • Faculty Advisor, Society of Women Engineers, 2021
  • Lessons chair, Illini Swing Society, 2020-2024

Design Teams

  • Illinois Solar Decathlon, Structures Faculty Advisor, 2024- present
  • UIUC Steel Bridge Team, Faculty Technical Advisor, 2024 - present
  • Masonry Arch Design Team, Faculty Advisor, 2021-2022

Other Undergraduate Advising Activities

  • Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) summer camp, summer 2021, created and taught module "Self-Balancing Structures" for highschool students
  • Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) summer camp, summer 2020, created and taught module "Self-Balancing Structures" for highschool students

Research Statement

Research vision: My research is creating new lightweight, adaptive, and deployable structures with innovative control that utilize machine learning techniques to respond to their surroundings and loading conditions for efficient and resilient structural engineering design and behavior. The increasing frequency of intense weather and extreme environmental loading conditions due to climate change is driving the need for such adaptive structural systems. A structure that can self-identify damage, respond, and learn is suitable for developing infrastructure systems that provide safety and continuous functionality even when subjected to extreme loading conditions. Resiliency and reserve capacity, for both strength and stiffness, are being addressed in this work through structural shape and property modification. My long-term goal is to forge new paths for resiliency of adaptive structural systems through research that integrates structural engineering, architecture, robotics, computer science, and visualization technologies. 

Summary of major research thrusts, accomplishments, and impacts[1]: 

Thrust 1: Structural analysis and architected materials for damage detection of large-scale deployable infrastructure (Students: Heather Gathman MS graduated Spring 2022, Zhixing Wang PhD started Fall 2024, Sagnik Paul PhD graduated Fall 2025)

Tensegrity Structures:  I am pursuing fundamental research needed to realize large-scale active and deployable tensegrity structures, where there are critical knowledge gaps related to realistic joints, scale effects, and the relationship between microstructural material properties and macroscopic system behavior. External impacts of this work will be felt in the aerospace industry, military applications, and offshore infrastructure that require high strength-low weight solutions. As a pilot application, my research team designed a deployable aluminum (Al) bicycle parking canopy for the University of Illinois campus [12], leveraging my previous work on aluminum structures [2]. In my lab, we translated the advanced structural analysis of a tensegrity structure into code-compliant construction drawings, built the aluminum tensegrity modules, and assembled the roof. Implementation of this large-scale structure has illuminated the effects of active control on Al alloys with different microstructures and the relationship to macroscopic mechanical properties. The design methodology and fabrication approach for the campus bicycle parking canopy, building upon my previous work [3,5-7], established a framework for development of innovative technologies like emergency pop-up shelters and structures for extreme or extraterrestrial environments. I have developed a novel, efficient approach to form-finding that solves static forces on any structure, but its biggest impact is for kinematic structures utilizing training of error targets within dynamic relaxation for enhanced convergence [Wang & Sychterz, in review]. This work is well-suited for incorporation into robotic control systems, per my previous work [7-8], since it provides an efficient analysis method for kinematic structures with large rotations and rotational stiffness at hinges. To communicate the findings across disciplines, my students and I have developed virtual reality modules to show how load flow occurs in complex structural systems such as tensegrity structures and complete buildings [20].

Architected Materials: I am developing a framework for large-scale deployable tensegrity structures with high damage tolerance through autonomous sensing and structural recovery. This leverages my previous work on damage detection and sensor placement on tensegrity structures [7-8]. Within this initiative, my areas of contribution are: (1) developing scale-appropriate joints for large range of motion that reduce uncertainties between simulations and experimental studies [13], (2) establishing an envelope of measurement cases to capture changes in structural properties, such as damage to an element [18], and (3) harnessing the envelope of measurement cases within machine learning for active control of a deployable structure to mitigate damage. I leveraged work at the University of Stuttgart to show that load-independent redundancy methods can be used for damage detection within architected materials [14]. A major outcome of this thrust is the framework using machine learning for large-scale deployable structures capable of detecting fractures with self-sensing and self-healing polymer. My experimental design and computational analysis of real-world multi-scale architected materials provides a ductile failure response for an unknown loading direction. I incorporated this material into non-powered damage sensitive elements within a large-scale tensegrity structure, demonstrating potential for future energy-conscious structural health monitoring practices in civil infrastructure [24]. Lastly, I am the first to experimentally and computationally validate progressive element failure properties in large-scale tensegrity structures [8].

Thrust 2: Life cycle assessment of adaptive origami structures inspired by pill bugs (Students: Angshuman Baruah PhD graduated Spring 2025, Yulin Zhu MS started Fall 2024, Larry St. Pierre MS started Fall 2025)

I am pursuing vibration attenuation for seismically sensitive structures using a spatial network of origami-enabled, pill bug-inspired, stiffness and shape changing structures with performance that improves over time via machine learning. My contributions in this area include: (1) simulation and experimental quantification of the origami pill bug tuned-mass damper topology for adaptivity under seismic loading [11], and (2) characterization of properties for interactivity and machine learning of origami pill bug structures within the spatial network for advanced vibration attenuation performance [16-17]. I have analyzed, designed, and built the first cable-actuated large-scale origami structure. Additionally, I have accomplished detection and location of damage within large-scale origami structures, with validation through computational models and experimental measurements. Experiments included high-fidelity optical tracking measurements and machine learning methods, while computational analysis further developed my dynamic relaxation formulation for origami structures [19]. I have formulated the natural frequency characterization of an origami structure throughout its deployment and folding process for future use in vibration attenuation applications. This analysis was furthered by studying sensor placement on adaptive structures under dynamic loading [22]. My work has initiated discussion within the field about detection and location of partial damage – instead of complete failure – to elements of kinematic structures, development of dynamic relaxation for thick panel origami, vibration of large-scale origami structures, and life cycle cost analysis. I am leading a research partnership with the University of Stuttgart to apply my damage detection methods in origami structures to coreless filament-wound composite structures [Grunvogel et al., in review].

Thrust 3: Deployable and compliant anchors for offshore mooring to minimize environmental impacts (Students: Kaylee Tucker MS graduated Spring 2023, Elizabeth Capretta MS graduated Spring 2025, Brian Dionicio MS started Fall 2025, Khuzaima Hummad PhD started Spring 2025)

I am developing the science of form-finding analysis for deployable structures confined by an incompressible medium (such as soil or water) [10,15], and pursuing applications for increased tensile anchor capacity with enhanced efficiency. Material economy reduces energy consumption, which is particularly beneficial for offshore energy platform mooring, off world infrastructure foundations, and coastal remediation initiatives. I am excited about my foundational contributions in this area, the potential for impact on industry and establishing new intellectual property (through patenting), and positioning myself as a leading researcher in kinematic structural engineering. This thrust leverages my previous work on dynamic relaxation for form-finding [3-4,9]. My novel formulation of dynamic relaxation to solve for the forces of a deployable structure in soil is the first of its kind [Hummad et al., in review]. I have generated a design suite of anchor parametric variations (considering number of awns, geometry, edge characteristics, awn pitch, and functionally graded stiffness) using Grasshopper and Rhino for computational modelling. Leveraging polymer 3D printing, I have sampled the design space and experimentally tested these models, with success in comparing their performance to my dynamic relaxation method. This NSF-funded work involves interdisciplinary collaboration that incorporates geotechnical expertise and holds potential for next-generation offshore energy platforms (DOE interest), as well as lunar and Martian foundation applications (NASA interest). Current industry engagement in this area includes the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Delmar Systems, and the American Institute of Steel Construction, with plans for in-situ testing of my designs. A provisional patent has been issued for the design, and there is an ongoing initiative with the University Office of Technology Management toward pursuing a startup company. 

Future direction: The three research thrusts described above form a diverse yet cohesive research program targeting the science and engineering of adaptive infrastructure at full-scale. My career plan interweaves research, education, and outreach to tackle the challenge of creating new infrastructure that can withstand adverse weather events, seasonal variations, and long-term climate change. My integrated experimental and computational research approach provides a robust framework for interrogating complex structural behavior across multiple scales. I aim to continue growing my program and impact through transformative contributions in structural topology, optimization strategies, dynamic modeling, control, and visualization of adaptive architected structural systems. Tangible examples of this include temporary modular railway bridges during construction, anchors for lunar and Martian habitats, and steel foundations for offshore energy platforms. I am excited about sustaining a long-term pioneering research program that makes fundamental scientific contributions and enhances resiliency and sustainability of the built infrastructure.

Research Interests

  • Optimized sensor placement for civil structures
  • Structural dynamics
  • Form-finding methods
  • Machine learning and robotics for civil structures
  • Damage mitigation and risk assessment in large-scale structures
  • Adaptive and deployable structures

Research Areas

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

  • Sychterz, A.C. and Hummad, K. Comparing computational and experimental behavior of deployable ground anchors, Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures 2026, Torino, Italy, 8p.
  • Hummad, K. and Sychterz A.C. Hybrid Experimental-Computational Framework for Modeling Deployable Ground Anchors, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2026, Boulder, United States, 2026, 4p.
  • Sychterz, A.C. and Baruah, A.C. Damage Detection and Sensor Optimization for Stability Characterization of a Meter-Scale Origami Pill-Bug Structure,  American Institute for Steel Construction NASCC 2026 Structural Stability Research Council, Atlanta, United States. 8p.
  • Rodgers, C., Sychterz, A.C., and Henschen, J. Work in Progress: Developing a Virtual Reality Intervention Activity for Reinforced Concrete Design, American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition 2026, Charlotte, United States, 8p
  • Hummad, K. and Sychterz, A.C. Enhancing the Design of Deployable Anchors for Coastal Slope Stabilization Through Dynamic Relaxation,  SMASIS 2025, St. Louis, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Reksowardojo, A. and Sychterz, A.C. Controlled geometry changes as a strategy for active diagnosis of damage in discrete structures, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2025, Irvine, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Wang, Z. and Sychterz, A.C. An Adaptive Dynamic Relaxation method with First Kinematic Equilibrium: A Study on Error comparison and time efficiency, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2025, Irvine, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Paul, S. and Sychterz A.C. Predicting Tensile Behavior of Multi-Layered Randomized Architected Material (MLRAM) using Artificial Intelligence, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2025, Irvine, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Baruah, A.C. and Sychterz A.C. Damage Classification of Deployable Origami Structure Using Supervised Machine Learning, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2025, Irvine, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Capretta, E. and Sychterz, A.C. Experimental Data-Informed Computational Analysis of Installation Processes for Deployable Ground Anchors, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2025, Irvine, United States, 2025, 4p.
  • Khan, A., Henschen, J., Sychterz, A.C., and Perry, L. Exploring Faculty Perspectives on Challenging Threshold Concepts in Structural Engineering, American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition 2025, Montreal, Canada, 8p.
  • Rodgers, C., Rahman, A., Sychterz, A.C., and Henschen, J. Case Study: Developing and Implementing VR Technology for Civil Engineering Education, American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition 2025, Montreal, Canada, 8p.
  • Capretta, E., Hummad, K., Rahman, S., Beemer, R., and Sychterz, A.C. Shear Plane Analysis of Deployable Anchors and Insights from X-ray Microtomography, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics, Nantes, France, 2025, 6p.
  • Capretta, E., Hummad, K., and Sychterz, A.C. Experimental and analytical stability of thick origami panels for deployable anchors to prevent coastal erosion, Proceedings of the Annual Stability Conference, 2025, Louisville USA, 2025, 8p.
  • Baruah, A.C. and Sychterz, A.C. Sensor placement for control of a meter-scale origami structure, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2024, Zurich, 2024 4p.
  • Capretta, E., Hummad, K., and Sychterz, A.C. Analytical and experimental testing for increased shear plane of deployable geosystems for coastal stabilization, Engineering Mechanics Institute conference 2024, Chicago, United States. 8p.
  • Baruah, A.C. and Sychterz, A.C. Optimizing sensor placement for characterization and control of a meter-scale origami pill-bug structure, Engineering Mechanics Institute conference 2024, Chicago, United States. 4p.
  • Paul, S. and Sychterz A.C. Non-linear modelling of multi-layered randomized architected material (MLRAM) under tensile loading for a tensegrity structure, Engineering Mechanics Institute conference 2024, Chicago, United States. 4p.
  • Sychterz, A.C. Stability of a deployable awns on a compliant steel geosystem for nonlinear soil-structure interaction, American Institute for Steel Construction NASCC 2024 Structural Stability Research Council, San Antonio, United States. 8p.
  • Tucker, K. and Sychterz A.C. Comparison of biologically inspired functionally-graded deployable geosystems with experimental measurements, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, 2023, 10p.
  • Baruah A.C. and Sychterz A.C. 'Damage detection of cable-actuated origami structure using dynamic relaxation, Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2022, Baltimore, Maryland. 4p.
  • Paul, S. and Sychterz, A.C. Robustness of Multilayered Random-network Architected Material through Experimental Testing, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2022, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 4p.
  • Grendzinski, M. and Sychterz, A.C. Characterization of Torque-Driven Underground Compliant Structures Using Pushover Analysis, Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2022, Baltimore, Maryland. 4p.
  • Torres, J.A. and Sychterz, A.C. Virtual Reality as a Vehicle for Education in the Domains of Building Systems, American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition 2022, Minneapolis, MN. 8p.
  • Tucker, K and Sychterz, A.C. Analyzing Geosystems with Deployable Compliant Mechanisms for Enhanced Tension Capacity, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers Annual Conference 2022, Whistler, British Columbia. 8p.
  • Sychterz, A.C. Adaptive Aluminum Tensegrity Structure as a Bike Parking Canopy, 5th International Conference on Structures & Architecture, Aalborg, 2022, 8p.
  • Paul, S. and Sychterz A.C. A Computational Analysis for an Adaptive Tensegrity-based Four-Module Roof Structure, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering VIRTUAL Conference 2021, 9p.
  • Baruah, A.C. and Sychterz A.C. Pill-bug inspired adaptive origami tuned-mass dampers, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering VIRTUAL Conference 2021, 8p.
  • Gathman, H and Sychterz A.C. Analysis of full-scale plate-based tensegrity structure using dynamic relaxation, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering VIRTUAL Conference 2021, 8p.
  • Paul, S. and Sychterz A.C. Dynamic Characterization of an Adaptive Tensegrity-based Four-Module Roof Structure, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Surrey, UK, 2021, 10p.
  • Baruah, A.C. and Sychterz A.C. Active control of 3D printed pill-bug inspired adaptive origami, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Surrey, UK, 2021, 10p.
  • Gathman, H and Sychterz A.C. Full-scale plate-based tensegrity bike parking canopy, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Surrey, UK, 2021, 10p.
  • Sychterz A.C. and Smith, I.F.C., Path-finding for deployment and midspan connection of a tensegrity structure, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Boston, United States, 2018, 10p.
  • Sychterz, A.C and Smith I.F.C., Dynamic effects of cable rupture in a tensegrity structure, Fourth conference on Smart Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Civil Structures, Zurich, Switzerland, 2017, 8p.
  • Sychterz, A.C. and Smith, I.F.C., Towards biomimetic actuation for a deployable structure, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Tokyo, Japan, 2016, 9p.
  • Sychterz, A.C. and Smith, I.F.C., Shape control for self-stress following deployment of a tensegrity footbridge, 24th International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering, Krakow, Poland, 2016, 11p.
  • Sychterz, A.C., Dalil Safaei, S., and Smith, I.F.C., Friction modeling of a deployable tensegrity footbridge, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2015, 11p.
  • Sychterz, A.C., Narasimhan, S., and Walbridge, S., A study on modal characterization and dynamic analysis of two aluminium pedestrian bridges in Quebec, International Aluminium Conference INALCO 2013 Conference Proceedings Montreal, Canada, 2013, 10p.
  • Sychterz A.C., Sadhu, A., Narasimhan, S., and Walbridge, S., Results from Modal Testing of the Daigneault Creek Bridge, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) 2013 General Conference Proceedings, Montreal, Canada, 2013, 10p.

Invited Lectures

  • U.S. interstate + air traffic maps: creating a multi-layered lattice material as a component within nonlinear structures
  • Deployable anchors: Origami is for Geotechnical Engineers

Patents

  • Adaptor for Adding Deployable Compliant Awns to Preconstructed Foundation Members.
  • UIUC2025-144-01(PRO) || GBC 1201*163439PR Anchor Pile Device with Rotationally Deployed Compliant Awns.

Magazine Articles

Journal Editorships

  • Guest Editor, ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering Special Collection "Adaptive and intelligent systems in structural engineering". 2022 - 2024.
  • Guest Editor, Frontiers in Built Environment: Structural Sensing, Special Issue Sensor Systems and Resiliency Diagnostics for Spatial Infrastructure". 2021 - 2023.

Conferences Organized or Chaired

  • Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) 2026 Torino, Italy Working Group 15 Structural Morphology "Touch Show and Tell"
  • WCCM/ECCOMAS 2026, Munich, Minisymposium Coordinator "Adaptive and Compliant Engineering Structures"
  • ASCE EMI 2026 Boulder, Minisymposium Coordinator "Geometries and Design" supported by Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee
  • Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2026, UIUC, Chair
  • ASCE SEI 2025 Phoenix, Minisymposium Coordinator "Advances in Intelligent Structural Sensing and Control" supported by Structural Control and Sensing Technical Committee
  • ASCE EMI 2025 Irvine, Minisymposium Coordinator "Geometries and Design" supported by Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee
  • Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2025, UIUC, co-hair
  • Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) 2024 Zurich, Switzerland, Working Group 15 Structural Morphology "Touch Show and Tell"
  • ECCOMAS 2024, Lisbon, Minisymposium Coordinator "Track 1900 Adaptive and Compliant Engineering Structures"
  • ASCE EMI/PMC 2024, local organizing committee member
  • Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2024, UIUC, co-chair
  • ASCE SEI Structures Congress, 2024, San Antonio, Minisymposium Coordinator "Innovations in Modular Rapidly Erectable and Deployable Structures" supported by Modular Rapidly Erectable and Deployable Structures Technical Committee
  • ASCE EMI 2024, Chicago, Minisymposium Coordinator "Geometries and Design" supported by Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee
  • ASCE Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Structures Congress, 2023, New Orleans, Minisymposium Coordinator "Advances in Intelligent Structural Sensing and Control" supported by Structural Control and Sensing Technical Committee
  • ASCE EMI 2023, Atlanta, Minisymposium Coordinator "Geometries and Design" supported by Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee
  • ASCE EMI 2022, Baltimore, Minisymposium Coordinator "Geometries and Design" supported by Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee
  • European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences (ECCOMAS 2022), Oslo, Minisymposium Coordinator "Track 1900 Adaptive and Compliant Engineering Structures"
  • CSCE 2022, Canada, Session Chair and Technical Committee
  • Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) 2021, Canada, Session Chair and Technical Committee
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) International conference 2021, Durham, UK, Minisymposium 74 "Adaptive and Controllable Modular Structures", Session Chair and Technical Committee

Presentations

  • Sychterz A.C., Pill-Bug Inspired Adaptive Origami Tuned-Mass Dampers, ASCE EMI 2021, virtual, United States.
  • Sychterz A.C. Analysis of full-scale adaptive aluminum tensegrity canopy, ASCE EMI-International Conference, 2021, Durham, UK.
  • Sychterz A.C. and Smith, I.F.C., Damage mitigation of a near-full-scale deployable tensegrity structure through behavior biomimetics, Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Conference 2019, Pasadena, United States, 2019.
  • Sychterz A.C. and Smith, I.F.C., Element location and classification following a damage event of a near-full-scale deployable tensegrity structure, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium, Barcelona, Spain, 2019.
  • Sychterz A.C. and Filipov, E., Actuator optimization for adaptive origami structures, 56th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science (SES2019), St. Louis, MO, 2019.

Professional Societies

  • ASCE ExCEEd, Assistant Mentor, Online, 08/2025.
  • ASCE ExCEEd, Assistant Mentor, Online, 08/2024.
  • ASCE SEI Structural Control and Sensing Technical Committee, Chair, 2023-2026
  • ASCE ExCEEd, Assistant Mentor, Fort Collins, CO, 08/2023.
  • ASCE EMI Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation Technical Committee, Chair, 2023-2026
  • ASCE SEI Younger Members Committee, Vice-Chair, 2023-2024
  • ASCE EMI Structural Health Monitoring Committee, Student Paper Competition Judge and Member, 2022- present
  • ASCE EMI Dynamics, Student Paper Competition Judge and Member, 2022 - present

Other Outside Service

  • Structural Engineers Association of Illinois, Affiliate member, 01/2024 - present.
  • Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Reviewer, 2024 - present.
  • Structures, Reviewer, 2024 - present.
  • Journal of Building Engineering, Reviewer, 2024 - present.
  • Journal of Civil Engineering Education, Reviewer, 2023 - present.
  • International Journal of Space Structures, Reviewer, 2023 - present.
  • ASEE Civil Engineering Division, Member, 2023 - present
  • ASCE SEI Modular, Rapidly-Erectable, and Deployable Structures Technical Committee, Member, 2023-2024
  • Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Reviewer, 2022 - present.
  • Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Dynamics Group, Member, 2022 - present.
  • Illinois Department of Transportation Bridges and Foundations, Academic Liaison, 2021-2023
  • Society of Women Engineers, Member, 01/2021- present.
  • Journal of Bridge Engineering, Reviewer, 2020 - present.
  • Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) of ASCE, M.ASCE, 01/2019 - present.
  • Engineering Structures, Reviewer, 2018 - present.
  • Journal of Sound and Vibration, Reviewer, 2018 - present.
  • Journal of Structural Engineering, Reviewer, 2018 - present.
  • International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), Member (Working Group 15 Structural Morphology), 04/2015 - present.
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), M.ASCE, 09/2012 - present.
  • Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of ASCE, M.ASCE, 09/2012 - present.

Honors

  • Outstanding Young Engineer Award, Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI) (04/2024)
  • ASCE SEI Future Leaders Award (02/2024)
  • ASCE SEI Futures Fund Young Professionals Award (01/2023)

Teaching Honors

  • ASCE ExcEEd Fellow (07/2022)
  • Collins Scholars Fellow (01/2021)
  • Levenick Sustainable Teaching Fellowship (01/2021)

Research Honors

  • Best paper award, 1st (Khuzaima Hummad), Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2026 - Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation (06/2026)
  • Best paper award, 2nd (Angshuman Baruah), Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2025 - Structural Health Monitoring Committee (05/2025)
  • Best poster (Kaylee Tucker), Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2022, Champaign (04/2022)
  • Best poster (Juan Torres), Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2022, Champaign (04/2022)
  • Best poster (Heather Gathman), Illinois Structural Engineering Conference 2021, Champaign (04/2021)

Improvement Activities

  • ASCE ExCEEd assistant mentor, online, July 2025
  • ASCE ExCEEd assistant mentor, online, July 2024
  • KEEN Workshop EML 1.0, August 8-11, Salt Lake City 2023
  • KEEN Consultant, University of Illinois summer 2023
  • ASCE ExcEEd assistant mentor, Colorado State, July 2023
  • KEEN National Conference, 2023
  • ASCE ExCEEd teaching workshop, West Point Military Academy, July 2022
  • KEEN National Conference, Feb 2021
  • ExCEEd online: Debrief the Semester: Lessons learned from the term, 2020
  • ExCEEd online: Adapting Demos to an Online Environment, 2020
  • ExCEEd online: Reimagining exams and assessments, 2020
  • Academy of Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3) Collins Scholars fellow, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, December 2020

Recent Courses Taught

  • CEE 460 - Steel Structures I
  • CEE 465 - Design of Structural Systems
  • CEE 467 - Masonry Structures
  • CEE 498 ST3 (CEE 498 ST4, CEE 498 STO) - Theory & Creation of Structure
  • CEE 595 SRS (CEE 595 SUO) - SRIS Seminar
  • CEE 595 SUO - Sustain & Resilient Infrst Sys
  • CEE 595 SUS - Sustain & Resiliant Infrst Sys

Related News