Mirko Kovac

Prof. Mirko Kovac is the Head of the Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics (LSR) at both École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). He holds the position of Adjunct Professor at EPFL's School of Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (SSIE), with affiliations in SSIE-GE and SSIE-ENS. Previously, he was a Full Professor at Imperial College London, where he remains an Honorary Professor in Aerial Robotics.

• PhD, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)
• BSc, Mechanical Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), 2005
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard University

His research centers on developing mobile robots for distributed sensing and autonomous manufacturing in complex natural environments. He specializes in robot design, hardware innovation, and multi-modal sensor mobility, with applications in environmental monitoring and sustainability. His work bridges robotics with ecological challenges, emphasizing real-world deployment and resilience.

Prof. Kovac has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in top-tier conferences and journals, earning several best paper awards. His publications reflect a strong trend in robotics applied to sustainability, environmental monitoring, and autonomous systems, with a consistent focus on hardware robustness and multi-modal locomotion.

He has been recognized with multiple best paper awards for his research contributions.

• Best Paper Awards (multiple)

He has supervised PhD students including Kanno Ryo and Kaya Yusuf Furkan. He regularly acts as an advisor to government, investment funds, and industry on robotics innovation and opportunities. He is also involved in teaching, offering the course 'Sustainability Robotics' at EPFL.

He leads the Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics (LSR) at EPFL and Empa, a multidisciplinary team focused on developing next-generation robotic systems for environmental applications, including aerial, ground, and hybrid robots capable of operating in unstructured natural settings.