Arda Kotikian
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Arda Kotikian is a Ph.D. Candidate in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Arda grew up in Massachusetts, and received her B.A. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Mount Holyoke College, where she focused her studies and research on synthetic organic chemistry. After an exciting summer as an undergraduate intern in Jennifer Lewis' laboratory at Harvard working on composite inks and extrudable inks for stretchable electronics, she decided to attend Harvard for a Ph.D. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in Jennifer Lewis' laboratory at Harvard, she has focused her research on inks and methods for 3D printed liquid crystal elastomer actuators. She is currently working in IRG2 also in collaboration with the Aizenberg group on new LCE inks and their integration into adaptable architectures and soft robotics. Arda has assisted with the MRSEC 3D Printing Workshops for middle school and high school aged girls.