About the series
Please join the U.S. National Science Foundation at 1PM Eastern on September 25, 2024, for a Distinguished Lecture by Waterman awardee Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio. She will speak on “Robots that Evolve on Demand.”
Soft robots have the potential to adapt to changing tasks and environments. Inspired by the dynamic plasticity of living organisms and the general adaptability of animals, Kramer-Bottiglio will introduce shape-shifting soft robot platforms—robotic skins and a quadruped robot with morphing limbs—capable of altering their physical shape and behavior to perform a multiplicity of tasks or traverse multiple environments.
Her talk will also explore the active material components, such as stretchable electronics, soft actuation, and variable stiffness materials, that enable predictable shape changes. By harnessing these engineered materials and mechanisms, we unlock a wide range of capabilities for increasingly adaptive robots.
This event is part three of a free, public lecture series featuring the laureates of the 2024 Alan T. Waterman award, the nation's highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.
Register here for the Waterman Lecture: Robots that Evolve on Demand
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing details about joining the webinar. Live captions will be available via Zoom. Contact rarequest@nsf.gov in advance to request reasonable accommodations.
Speaker Bio
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 printable liquid metals. 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.
