About
Research scientist working at the intersection of soft robotics, bio-inspired engineering, and environmental sustainability.
I am a Research Scientist at the Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics at Empa and EPFL in Switzerland, with Prof. Mirko Kovač. My research develops novel physically intelligent, bio-inspired robotic platforms that use soft sensing and actuation. My work spans aerial, aquatic, wearable, supernumerary, and continuum systems.
Together with engineers, biologists, ecologists, and data scientists, we aim to develop a nature-inspired, conservation-driven approach to robotics that actively safeguards biodiversity and restores our ecosystems.
I completed my Ph.D. in Systems Engineering at Arizona State University (2020) with Prof. Wenlong Zhang. I earned my M.Sc. in Advanced Robotics through the EMARO program (École Centrale de Nantes, France, and Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy, 2015), and my B.S.E. in Mechatronics with First Class Honors at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok (2013).
By the numbers
Positions
- Jan 2025 to present
Research Scientist (Senior Researcher)
Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics · Empa & EPFL · Dübendorf, Switzerland · with Prof. Mirko Kovač
- Jan 2023 to Dec 2024
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics · Empa · Dübendorf, Switzerland · with Prof. Mirko Kovač
- Jan 2023 to Jan 2025
Visiting Researcher
Aerial Robotics Lab, Department of Aeronautics · Imperial College London · London, UK · with Prof. Mirko Kovač
- Nov 2020 to Dec 2022
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Aerial Robotics Lab, Department of Aeronautics · Imperial College London · London, UK · with Prof. Mirko Kovač
- May 2020 to Oct 2020
Postdoctoral Fellow
Robotics and Intelligent Systems Lab · Arizona State University · Tempe, AZ, USA · with Prof. Wenlong Zhang
- 2016 to 2020
Graduate Research Assistant
Bio-inspired Mechatronics Lab & Robotics and Intelligent Systems Lab · Arizona State University · Tempe, AZ, USA
- Dec 2015 to Jul 2016
Research Scientist
Visual Graphics Laboratory · Asian Institute of Technology · Bangkok, Thailand
- Mar 2015 to Oct 2015
Research Intern
Dynamic Legged Systems Lab · Italian Institute of Technology · Genova, Italy
Education
- 2020
Ph.D. · Systems Engineering (Robotics)
Arizona State University · Tempe, AZ, USA · with Prof. Wenlong Zhang
Dissertation: Design, Modeling, and Evaluation of Soft Poly-Limbs. Toward a New Paradigm of Wearable Robotic Manipulation for Daily Living Tasks.
- 2015
M.Sc. · Advanced Robotics
EMARO — European Masters in Advanced Robotics · École Centrale de Nantes (France) & Università degli Studi di Genova (Italy)
- 2013
B.S.E. · Mechatronics — First Class Honors
Asian Institute of Technology · Bangkok, Thailand
Research themes
- Soft aerial robotics. Bio-inspired flyers that morph, perch, and collide resiliently with their environment.
- Aerial-aquatic robotics. Robots that transition between air and water using bio-inspired adhesion and locomotion, from remora-style hitchhiking to midge-inspired wet-surface adhesion.
- Assistive and rehabilitative robotics. Soft textile-based actuators and sensors for wearable and life-support garments, developed in collaboration with clinicians.
- Transient and sustainability robotics. Biodegradable, nature-derived robots for habitat restoration, biodiversity monitoring, and climate intervention.
- Supernumerary limbs and continuum manipulation. Additional robotic limbs for daily-living tasks, drawing on soft poly-limb designs first established during my Ph.D.
Service and editorial
Workshops organized at IEEE RoboSoft, RSS, and ICRA. Topics include Sustainable Soft Robotics, Bio-inspired Soft Aerial Robotics, Translational Soft Robotics, and the forthcoming Climate Robotics Summit 2026.
Editor roles:
- Associate Editor for the 2026 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)
- Review Editor for Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Soft and Bio-inspired Robotics)
- Guest and Topic Editor for Advanced Intelligent Systems, IOP Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, and Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Reviewer for Nature, Nature Communications, IJRR, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Soft Robotics, IROS, RoboSoft, RSS, and ICRA.
General Chair of the 2025 RSS Pioneers Workshop, Los Angeles.
Media coverage
My research has been featured in over 650+ media outlets (per Altmetric), including CBS News, ABC15 News, Science Magazine, Popular Science, and New Scientist.