About

Hello!

I’m Yoshi Obata, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Utah. My primary research interests are studying the mechanisms that control bone quality and resistance to fracture, especially through synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (XCT). I am currently interested in combining in situ XCT with deep learning image de-noising and segmentation. In my spare time I enjoy fitness, video games, and working on data science projects.

Fracture and Fatigue of Skeletal Tissues Lab

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. working in the Fracture and Fatigue of Skeletal Tissues Lab (F²) Lab. My work involves investigating microstructural features and aspects of bone quality using XCT imaging. Some such features and parameters include canals, osteocyte lacunae, volumetric tissue mineral density, and path of crack propagation. In my research, I use python for data analysis, image processing, and machine learning. I also use ImageJ and Dragonfly (ORS) for image processing. My long term research goal is to determine the impact of diabetes and high-fat diets on bone quality, and especially its mechanical properties. If you’re interested in the specifics of my research, feel free to take a look at my research page.

Undergraduate Education

I graduated with my undergrad degree in Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University in 2019. I also obtained a minor in Physics. During my time at NCSU, I was primarily interested in aerospace structures, contributing to my senior design project my performing a static wing loading experiment, structural analyses in ANSYS, and laying up carbon fiber UAV components. When I was not doing coursework, I was involved in the Ballistic Loading and Structural Testing (BLAST) Lab. My main responsibilities in this lab were to design a carbon fiber boom deployment mechanism for use in zero-gravity environments and create LabView software to record temperature and accelerometer data during a zero-gravity flight test.

In the summer of the Junior year, I interned at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. There, I worked on fatigue crack growth prognosis through simulation on aircraft grade aluminum (Al 2024-T3). I performed a uniaxial fatigue test with DIC on an edge-notched sample and attempted to simulate the path of crack propagation using ABAQUS and FRANC3D. It was also here where I developed a passion for research.

Hobbies

In my spare time, I enjoy biking, weightlifting, climbing, coding, and playing video games. Utah has no shortage of beautiful canyons to bike and climb in!