MEAM Seminar: “Robots that Evolve on Demand”
January 28, 2025 at 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
Soft robots have the potential to adapt their morphologies and behavioral control policies to changing tasks and environments. Inspired by the dynamic plasticity of living organisms and the general adaptability of animals, this talk will discuss several shape-shifting soft robot platforms for multi-task performance and multi-environment locomotion—for example, robotic skins, robotic fabrics, and robots with morphing limbs. The talk will also explore the active material components, such as stretchable electronics and computation, soft actuation, and variable stiffness materials, that enable predictable robot morphology changes. By harnessing these engineered materials and mechanisms, we aim to unlock a wide range of capabilities for increasingly adaptive, evolving robots.
Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio
John J. Lee Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Yale University
Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio is the John J. Lee Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yale University. She has received multiple early career awards including the NSF Career Award, the NASA Early Career Award, the AFOSR Young Investigator Award, and the ONR Young Investigator Award. She was named to the Forbes “30 under 30” list for her work on liquid metal-based stretchable electronics. She received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers, for her development of robotic skins that turn inanimate objects into multifunctional robots. She received the 2024 Alan T. Waterman award, NSF’s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers, “for groundbreaking contributions to robotics, particularly in advancing the understanding of how to design and build machines that evolve on demand.” She was named a National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Gilbreth Lecturer in 2022 and a National Academy of Science (NAS) Kavli Fellow in 2023. She also serves on the Technology, Innovation & Engineering Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.