Metin Sitti

Prof. Dr. Metin Sitti is a leading academic and researcher currently serving as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and affiliated faculty at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and Koç University's Schools of Medicine and Engineering. His interdisciplinary work bridges robotics, materials science, and biomedicine.

His research interests center on medical microrobotics, bio-inspired robotics, and physical intelligence, exploring how intelligent behaviors can emerge from material properties and system design. He leads the Physical Intelligence Research Group, pioneering novel approaches in soft and micro-robotic systems.

The scientific publications attributed to Prof. Sitti span diverse areas including micro-robotic locomotion, stimuli-responsive materials, and collective behavior in synthetic systems. Though specific titles are not listed, his body of work consistently contributes to robotics, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering.

• Rahmi M. Koç Science Award
• ERC Advanced Grant
• IEEE Fellow
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award
• SPIE Nanoengineering Pioneer Award
• IEEE/ASME Best Mechatronics Paper Award
• Robotics: Science and Systems Conference Best Paper Award
• IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Robot Systems Conference Best Paper and Video Awards
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Conference Best Paper and Video Awards
• IEEE Robotics and Biomimetics Conference Best Paper and Video Awards

Prof. Sitti has secured major grants including the ERC Advanced Grant and NSF CAREER Award, supporting high-impact research in intelligent materials and robotic systems. He has mentored numerous researchers and students across institutions, though specific advisees are not listed. His entrepreneurial initiative led to the founding of nanoGriptech Inc. in 2009, commercializing gecko-inspired microfiber adhesives.

He leads the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute, where his team develops novel robotic materials and microsystems that exhibit intelligence through physical design rather than computation alone.