From Micro to Nano Robotics

Brad Nelson
Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH-AurichDirector of IRISRobots are currently exploring many environments that are difficult if not impossible for humans to reach, such as the edge of the solar system, the planet Mars, volcanoes on Earth, and the undersea world. The goal of these robotic explorers is to obtain knowledge about our universe and to answer fundamental questions about life and human origins. Microrobotics has entered this field by exploring life at a much smaller scale and more fundamental level. Microrobotic systems for physically exploring the structures of biological cells are being developed, and robotic motion planning strategies are being used to investigate protein folding. Microrobotic mechanisms have been used to investigate organism behaviors, such as the flight dynamics of fruit flies as well as the neurophysiology that govern many other biologically interesting behaviors. These recent research efforts and others like them illustrate how several areas of robotics research are rapidly converging to create this new discipline I refer to as BioMicroRobotics. These new directions in robotics represent only a beginning and indicate that robotics research, and biomicrorobotics in particular, has the capability of making significant contributions in the understanding of life. In moving from the micro domain to nanometric scales, completely different issues in developing nanorobotic systems and in their application arise. The second part of the talk will present recent efforts at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH-Zurich in fabricating nanometer scale robotic components. Biography:Brad Nelson is the Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH-Zürich and is the director of IRIS.
His primary research direction lies in extending robotics research into emerging areas of science and engineering. His most recent scientific contributions have been in the area of microrobotics, biomicrorobotics, and nanorobotics, including efforts in robotic micromanipulation, microassembly, MEMS (sensors and actuators), mechanical manipulation of biological cells and tissue, and NanoElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS). He has also contributed to the fields of visual servoing, force control, sensor integration, and web-based control and programming of robots.
Prof. Nelson received a B.S. (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1984, an M.S. (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Minnesota in 1987, and the Ph.D. degree in Robotics (School of Computer Science) from Carnegie Mellon University in 1995. During these years he also worked as an engineer at Honeywell and Motorola, and served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, Africa. In 1995 he became Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in 1998, and Professor at ETH in 2002.
He has been awarded a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship and is a recipient of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the McKnight Presidential Fellows Award, and the Bronze Tablet. He was elected as a Robotics and Automation Society Distinguished Lecturer in 2003 and received the Best Conference Paper Award at the IEEE 2004 International Conference on Robotics and Automation. He was named to the 2005 "Scientific American 50," Scientific American magazine's annual list recognizing outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology from the past year.
Professor Nelson serves on or has been a member of the editorial boards of the IEEE Transaction on Robotics, the Journal of Micromechatronics and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine. He has chaired several international workshops and conferences.
He is currently the head of the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT).

Location: Hedco Neurosciences Building (HNB) - 100

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Nancy Levien