Event
MRC Seminar: Variable Stiffness and Shape-Changing Robots
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
1:30 p.m.
JMP 2116
Variable Stiffness and
Dr. Brian Do
Assistant Professor, Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute
Oregon State University
Abstract
Traditional robots possess fixed morphology and are created for specific functions. This prevents them from adapting to changes in their environment and limits them to carefully controlled manmade settings. Robots that adapt their mechanical properties could better assist humans in the real world. Prof. Do’s work leverages soft robots as a foundation for the design of robots that modulate their mechanical properties to bridge the gap in existing capabilities between soft and rigid robots and
Biography
Dr. Brian H. Do is an Assistant Professor in the Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute at Oregon State University. He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017 and an M.S. and Ph.D., both in mechanical engineering, from Stanford University in 2019 and 2023, respectively. Dr. Do completed his doctoral work in the Stanford CHARM Lab advised by Prof. Allison Okamura and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Yale University Faboratory with Prof. Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio.
Dr. Do aims to create human-centered robots capable of adapting to and interacting with the physical world. His research focuses on the design and modeling of robots that adapt their morphology and mechanical properties for use in exploration, navigation, manipulation, and haptics. He has been named a Trailblazer in Engineering and an RSS Pioneer and has received several awards for his excellence in mentorship and outreach.
