Research Areas:
Wireless Medical Devices, Small-Scale Mobile Robots, Bioinspiration, Physical Intelligence

Prof. Metin Sitti holds a BS (1992) and a MS (1994) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan, in 1999. Since Fall 2023, he has served as the President and Professor at the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. Prior to his current role, Prof. Sitti was the Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany from 2014 to 2023. He has also held academic positions as a Professor at ETH Zurich (2020-2024), a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University (2002-2014), and a Research Scientist at the University of California, Berkeley (1999-2002).

Prof. Sitti's research interests encompass small-scale robotics, bioinspired adhesives and locomotion, wireless medical devices, and the broader field of physical intelligence. His current research at Koç University is dedicated to the development of minimally invasive and implantable wireless milli- and microscale medical robots and devices designed to operate within the human body. This groundbreaking work aims to revolutionize medicine and healthcare by enhancing the quality of life for individuals and saving lives through innovative medical solutions. His interdisciplinary team comprises experts in robotics, micro/nanotechnology, materials science, engineering, physics, biology, chemistry, and medicine. He serves as the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics and as an Associate Editor for Science Advances.

Prof. Sitti is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and an IEEE Fellow. He has received numerous accolades, including recognition as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Breakthrough of the Year Award at the Falling Walls World Science Summit in 2020, the ERC Advanced Grant in 2019, the Rahmi Koç Medal of Science in 2018, the SPIE Nanoengineering Pioneer Award in 2011, and the NSF CAREER Award in 2005. He is also the founder of Setex Technologies Inc., a company established to commercialize his lab's gecko-inspired microfiber adhesive technology.