Meet the Research Team

Dr. Rebecca F. Friesen

Principal Investigator

Dr. Friesen is an Assistant Professor in the J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Dr. Friesen's research focuses on surface haptic displays, haptic wearables for extended reality, human-machine interaction, tactile perception and biomechanics of skin.

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Graduate Researchers

Paras Kumar

PhD Student

Paras joined Friesen Haptics Lab in Spring 2022. He received his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2017 and worked at Maruti Suzuki R&D before joining Texas A&M University in 2021. His current research interests lie in wearable devices for creating efficient vibration-based representations of textures in virtual reality. Outside of research, Paras loves to spend time rehearsing and performing as a member of TAMU Apotheosis (TexasA&M’s All-Male Acapella).

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MacKenzie Harnett

PhD Student

MacKenzie joined Dr. Friesen’s lab in Summer 2022. She received her B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University in 2021, and she began her studies at TAMU the following Fall semester. Her current research interests focus on 2D and 2.5D tactile devices, with a particular focus on facilitating novel communications and artistic expression using touch. Beyond research, Mackenzie loves artsy crafts and activities–illustration, sewing, paper crafts, and so on.

Pijuan Yu

PhD Student

Pijuan joined Friesen Haptics lab in Fall 2022. He received his B.S. degree at Florida Institute of Technology in 2020 and M.S. degree at Northwestern University in 2021 both in Mechanical Engineering. His current research is related to the combination of haptic perception and visual perception in the lump detection experiment for telehealth. In addition to research, he is interested in traveling, hiking and playing video games.

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Alexis Urquhart

MS Student
Alexis is starting a Masters in Fall 2024. She previously worked in the lab as an undergraduate student on a project designing tissue phantoms that exhibit mobile features for palpation training and force characterization. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing guitar, and exploring coffee shops.

LinkedIn: Profile

Undergraduate Researchers

Kaitlyn Hawkins

BS Student, Mechanical Engineering

Kaitlyn joined the lab as an REU student in Summer 2023, designing a perceptual threshold experiments for a cutaneous pressure haptic glove in a customized Unity environment.

Luke Bunting

BS Student, Mechanical Engineering

Luke joined the lab in Spring 2024, where he has developed a stepper-controlled translating platform for characterizing effects of friction-modulating screens on the finger using accelerometers and Laser Doppler Vibrometry.