• Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
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Rebecca Frisen

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University - 2020
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University - 2016
  • B.A., Physics, Goshen College - 2009

Research Interests

    • Surface haptic displays
    • Haptic wearables for extended reality
    • Human-machine interaction
    • Tactile perception
    • Biomechanics of skin

Awards & Honors

  • SWE Trailblazer Award - 2024
  • The James J. Cain '51 Faculty Graduate Teaching Award - 2024
  • Northwestern Martin Outstanding Doctoral Fellowship - 2017
  • World Haptics Conference Best Presentation Award - 2015

Selected Publications

  • Harnett, M., Kumar, P., and Friesen, R.F. (2025) "Effects of Distributed Friction Actuation During Sliding Touch." IEEE Transactions on Haptics.
  • Harnett, M., Lacy, A., Yu, P. and Friesen, R.F. (2025) “Haptic Interaction Methods for Freehand Contour Generation on a Refreshable Pin Display.” ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering (JCISE).
  • Yu, P., Batteas, L. C., Ferris, T., Hipwell, M. C., Quek, F., & Friesen, R. F. (2024). Investigating Passive Presentation Paradigms to Approximate Active Haptic Palpation. IEEE Transactions on Haptics.
  • Friesen, R.F., Vardar, Y. (2023). On the perceived realism of virtual textures rendered by a vibrotactile wearable ring display. IEEE Transactions on Haptics.
  • Friesen, R.F., Klatzky, R. L., Peshkin, M. A., & Colgate, E. (2021). Building a navigable fine texture design space. IEEE Transactions on Haptics.
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