Two innovative researchers join UCI Samueli School of Engineering

Sept. 28, 2026 — The UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering — consistently ranked among the nation's top public engineering programs and home to members of the National Academies of Engineering, Science, and Medicine — welcomes two faculty members to its ranks for the 2025-26 academic year. 

Blaine A. Christiansen and Yu Otsuki bring distinguished research portfolios, interdisciplinary expertise and a commitment to solving real-world problems through engineering innovation. Their arrivals strengthen UCI’s mission to advance discovery, cultivate the next generation of engineers and deliver meaningful impact to society.

Blaine A. Christiansen

Blaine A. Christiansen joins UCI as a professor in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering. He comes from UC Davis Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, where his research program focused on bone biomechanics and musculoskeletal health. His work examines how mechanical forces, biological factors, injury and aging interact to influence musculoskeletal tissue health and lead to diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
 
Christiansen's lab employs in vivo mouse models, mechanical testing and advanced imaging techniques to understand musculoskeletal adaptation and degeneration at multiple scales. His findings have helped shape the field's understanding of how acute injuries can lead to degeneration of musculoskeletal tissues and how this can be mitigated.
 
“Working closely with biomedical engineers alongside the outstanding clinicians at UCI Health is a unique opportunity to move discoveries from the lab setting toward real world implementation in human patients,” he said. “I'm excited to leverage UCI's advanced imaging capabilities and cutting edge research centers, which will complement my lab’s imaging and mechanical testing capabilities to allow us to investigate research questions from unique perspectives."

Yu Otsuki

Yu Otsuki joins UCI as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He joins after three years working in industry, where he developed a research program bringing together robotics, autonomous systems, and civil infrastructure. His work explores how intelligent robotic systems can transform construction processes.
 
Otsuki's lab uses robotic platforms ranging from wheeled robots, quadrupeds and manipulators to humanoids and construction machinery, together with advanced computational and programming methods, to advance the frontiers of construction technology. His prior academic research included the development of a magnet-wheeled robot capable of performing ultrasonic thickness measurements on steel bridge members, as well as theoretical and computational advances in finite element modeling that sharpen the accuracy of structural digital twins. In industry, he worked on off-road autonomous systems for construction machinery and earthmoving operations.
 
"The Center for Resilient Autonomous Systems gives our work an immediate home and connects us to the kind of interdisciplinary expertise that construction robotics demands," he said. "Southern California's thriving construction industry also puts us close to the industry partners who can help move this research from the lab onto real job sites."

-  Paul McQuiston