Dr. Nelson joined the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2005. Prior to coming to UNL, he attended Purdue University, where he received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and completed his MSME and PhD degrees. Dr. Nelson is a member of the ASME, and his teaching experience includes courses in flight science at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth and algebra at Ivy Tech State College of Indiana. Since coming to UNL, Dr. Nelson has taught Dynamic Systems Modeling and Control (MECH 350) and a new course entitled Biomedical Device Design (MECH 498/898).
Dr. Nelson's research interests lie broadly in the areas of robotics and mechanical systems design and analysis, including specific thrusts in optimal design, design of modular mechanical systems, and incorporation of graph-theoretic techniques in mechanical systems design. He is specifically interested in adapting these concepts for surgical and biomedical applications. For more information, visit http://robots.unl.edu/Nelson/www/index.htm
Nelson, C. A., Miller, D. J., and Oleynikov, D., "Design Methodology for a Novel Multifunction Laparoscopic Tool: Engineering for Surgeons' Needs," Proceedings of Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 15, Long Beach, CA, Feb. 6-9, 2007, IOS Press, pp. 343-348.
Nelson, C. A., and Cipra, R. J., "Kinematics and Force Optimization for Efficient Self-Reconfiguration of Chain-Type Modular Robots," ASME DETC'05, Long Beach, CA, September 24-28, 2005, ASME Paper No. DETC2005-84612.
Nelson, C. A., and Cipra, R. J., "Simplified Kinematic Analysis of Bevel Epicyclic Gear Trains with Application to Power Flow and Efficiency Analyses," ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 127, No. 2, March 2005, pp. 278-286.
Nelson, C. A., and Cipra, R. J., "Similarity and Equivalence of Nutating Mechanisms to Bevel Epicyclic Gear Trains for Modeling and Analysis," ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 127, No. 2, March 2005, pp. 269-277.
Nelson, C. A., and Cipra, R. J., "An Algorithm for Efficient Self-Reconfiguration of Chain-Type Unit-Modular Robots," ASME DETC'04, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 28 - October 2, 2004, ASME Paper No. DETC2004-57488.
