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Metin Sitti Works on Many Fronts to Advance Biologically Inspired Technologies A Metin Sitti


MechE faculty member since 2002, Professor Metin Sitti has been one of the pioneering researchers to investigate the implications of incorporating biologically inspired components, and lifelike movements, into miniature


robots. Over the years, Sitti has made global headlines with his adhesives inspired by gecko feet, his water-striding robots based on insects, and his tiny swimming robots informed by the natural motion of bacteria. Sitti has also won millions of dollars in grant money to bring his innovations to life, including two NSF awards totaling more than $1.5 million which were announced late last year. (See Carnegie Mech, Fall 2011.) Today, Sitti is taking his bio-robotics leadership to the next level by creating new ways for interdisciplinary Carnegie Mellon researchers to collaborate on technology development—as well as commercializing his own most promising robotics research.


ESTABLISHING CMU AS A GLOBAL LEADER Metin Sitti recently led the creation of the new Center for Bio-Robotics at Carnegie Mellon, which will help establish the University’s global leadership in this groundbreaking field. By bringing robotics experts within MechE together with leaders at the Robotics Institute, the Department of Electrical and Com- puter Engineering, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sitti hopes the Center will fast-track technology development. Other MechE faculty affiliated with the new Center include Professors Steven Collins, Philip LeDuc, Carmel Majidi, William Messner, Burak Ozdoganlar, Kenji Shimada, and Donghyun You. “Over the years, Carnegie Mellon has hired more and more experts in bio-robotics—creating an impressive roster of talent,” notes Sitti. “In founding the new Center for Bio-Robotics, my main objective was to create larger-scale, interdisciplinary research activity that can leverage this diverse expertise—attracting new funding and making the University a global leader in biologically inspired robotics innovations.” “By sharing our equipment, facilities, and specialized exper- tise, I believe we can make incredibly rapid progress,” adds Sitti.


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