2025
- [Publications] [09/2025] Review paper on social insect nest construction is published in Insectes Sociaux: Architecture of the insect society: comparative analysis of collective construction and social function of nests
- [Publications] [07/2025] Work on robotic manipulation of geometrically cohesive granular media is submitted and published in an Arxiv pre-print: Robot Excavation and Manipulation of Geometrically Cohesive Granular Media
- [Presentations] [06/2025] Dr. Treers is invited to present her research for the University Research Lecture Series at NUWC Newport, titled “Locomotion in a Messy World: The Power of Simple Models in Complex Environments.”
- [Workshops] [05/2025] Dr. Treers is a co-organizer and panelist for a workshop at the International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA) 2025 on mechanical intelligence, titled Towards Agility and Robustness: Mechanical Intelligence in Robotics, Biology, and Smart Materials https://sites.google.com/view/mechanicalintelligence-icra25/
- [Grants] [05/2025] Dr. Treers and collaborators at Applied Research Associates (ARA) in Randolph, Vermont receive a Capacity Grant from Vermont’s Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships to study Microbots for Environmental Remediation
- [Grants] [04/2025] Dr. Treers receives a NASA EPSCoR small-scale research grant from the Vermont Space Grant Consortium (VTSGC) to study Rapid Terrain Characterization for Mobile Robots Using Resistive Force Theory.
- [Grants] [04/2025] Dr. Treers receives an NSF Engineering Research Initiation Award to work on Advancing Subterranean Navigation by Legged Robots through Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2501934
- [Fellowships] [03/2025] Lab member Adam Boyle is selected for the CEMS Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award to conduct research in the lab during summer 2025.
- [Events] [03/2025] Dr. Treers gives an opening speech for the first-ever FIRST Robotics Competition Event in the state of Vermont, in Patrick Gymnasium on UVM campus. https://www.uvm.edu/cems/first-robotics-uvm
- [Fellowships] [02/2025] Dr. Treers is selected for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program to conduct biologically-inspired design research at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport during summer 2025.
- [Presentations] [01/2025] Dr. Treers presents her work on collective behavior and workload distribution in fire ants at the Society for Integrative Biology (SICB) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia: The onset of laziness: intrinsic motivation and local cues interact to mitigate traffic in fire ants
2024
- [Grants] [11/2024] The lab receives a UVM OVPR EXPRESS Grant for work on Granular Fluidization Bed Construction.