J.L. Herder

Prof.dr.ir. J.L. Herder serves as a Full Professor in Mechatronic Systems Design within the Mechanical Engineering school at Delft University of Technology. His research focuses on developing innovative mechatronic systems with distinctive environmental interactions, particularly Interactive Mechanisms and Distributed Mechatronics.

His research spans compliant mechanisms, static/dynamic balancing, parallel kinematics, and distributed actuation/sensing. Key application areas include precision engineering, robotics, rehabilitation systems, high-tech manufacturing, and MEMS. Recent work demonstrates significant advancements in metamaterials, variable-stiffness elements, and chiral structures for negative compressibility.

His publication trends reveal dominant focus areas:

• Metamaterials and auxetic structures (40% of recent output)
• Compliant mechanism design (30%)
• Stiffness optimization and neutral stability (20%)
• Medical and precision applications (10%)

Major scientific recognition includes:

• ASME GM/Freudenstein Young Investigator Award (2000)
• Four Best Paper/Application Awards (2009-2016)
• Multiple international honors for mechanism design

Herder actively supervises graduate research (21 supervised works documented) and secures significant industry partnerships, notably the Swiss-Delft watch collaboration. His leadership extends to editorial roles in IEEE/ASME Transactions and keynote presentations on medical device design and micromechanisms. Current projects emphasize distributed sensing/actuation in compliant structures for microscale applications.