Guild (People)
Since March of 2023, I have been in the Haptic Intelligence (HI) Department at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, led by Dr. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker. I am working with many people on the team on various projects! Check out the department's webpage to see the whole HI team. Social links coming soon.
Faculty & Group Leader Collaborators
Dr. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
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Katherine J. Kuchenbecker is my postdoc advisor in the Haptic Intelligence Department at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart Germany. Dr. Kuchenbecker is a world expert in the field of haptics. I am working with Dr. Kuchenbecker on organismal haptics.
Dr. Sabetta Matsumoto
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Dr. Sabetta Matsumoto is an associate professor of Physics and Quantitative Biosciences at Georgia Tech that is a theoretical and experimental physicist that is the world leader on knitted physics and physical mimics.
Dr. Roxanne Moore
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Dr. Roxanne Moore is a research engineer in the Mechanical Engineering department at Georgia Tech, serving as a subject matter expert in engineering education. Dr. Moore has explicitly a lot of experience in engaging high schoolers with the ideas of invention.
Dr. Michael Brecht
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Dr. Michael Brecht is currently head of the Active Touch group at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin as well as Humboldt Universitat Berlin. Dr. Brecht has experience in a diverse array of skills in neuroscience.
Dr. Florian Hartmann
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Dr. Florian Hartmann is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, leading the Biomimetic Materials and Machines Group. Dr. Hartmann and I are working on several projects related to bio-inspired materials and sustainable systems.
Dr. Christoph Keplinger
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Christoph Keplinger is a director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, where he heads the Robotic Materials Department. I am working with different people in the RM department bio-inspired embodied intelligence of robotic and material systems.
Dr. Maegan Tucker
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Dr. Maegan Tucker is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology leading the DynaMo lab investigating bipedal locomotion and nonlinear control. I am working with Dr. Tucker on projects relating to material system in bipedal and hopping robots.
Dr. Michael Muehlebach
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Dr. Michael Muehlebach is leading the independent research group Learning and Dynamical Systems at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tuebingen, Germany. I am working with Dr. Muehlebach on comparative haptics systems onboard robots.
Dr. Vesna Srot
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Dr. Vesna Srot is a group leader at our neighboring institute of Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Dr. Srot is an expert on Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of biological materials. I am working with Vesna on several projects related to biomechanics of tissues at the nanoscale.
Dr. Gunther Richter
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Dr. Gunther Richter is the head of the Materials Central Facilities at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Dr. Richter is an expert on nanomechanics techniques bridging both metal and biological systems. I am working Dr. Richter on several biomaterials projects.
Dr. Peter A. van Aken
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Dr. Peter A. van Aken is the Head of Scientific Facility of the Stuttgart Center for Electron Microscopy in the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Dr. van Aken is working on several biomaterials and liquid metal characterization projects with myself and other collaborators.
Dr. Abigale Stangl
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Dr. Abigale Stangl is a design researcher specializing in the development of systems that promote inclusive design practices and enhance the accessibility of products and information. Dr. Stangl and I are working on projects looking at bio-inspired accessibility of tactile graphics and images.
Dr. Joseph Mendelson III
Dr. Joe Mendelson is currently the Director of Research at Zoo Atlanta and a professor of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech. Dr. Mendelson assists with all Zoo research including elephants, gorillas, and snakes.
Postdoctoral Researcher & Graduate Student Collaborators
Dr. Giulia Ballardini
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Dr. Giulia Ballardini is a postdoctoral researcher in the Haptic Intelligence Department at MPI-IS. Giulia and I are working on several projects together relating to haptics, biomaterials, and sensing.
Dr. Krishma Singal
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Dr. Krishma Singal is a PhD student in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech working with Sabetta on studying the physics of knitted fabrics. Krishma is an expert experimentalist on knitted physics and soft matter physics. We are currently working on knitted elephant trunk mimics.
Dr. Lena Kaufmann
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Dr. Lena Kaufmann is currently a neuroscience PhD student in the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience. Lena is working on elephant neuroscience through different behavior and physiology studies. We are working on different projects focusing on the elephant trunk.
Dr. Lawrence Smith
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Dr. Lawrence Smith is an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow in the Robotic Materials Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Dr. Smith is an expert on multimaterial development and simulation methods and we work together on simulation of biomaterials and sensors.
Dr. Muhammad Yunusa
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Dr. Yunusa is a postdoctoral researcher at MPI-IS that is an expert on Liquid Metals, specifically Liquid Galium. Muhammad is collaborating with me on several projects focusing on using new chemistry and material science characterizations for research projects.
Dr. Karly Cohen
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Dr. Cohen is a postdoctoral researcher at Friday Harbor Labs at the University of Washington. Dr. Cohen is an expert on fish biomechanics and morphology and we are working on several projects interfacing nanomechanics and morphology of various biological structures.
Cassie Shriver
Cassie Shrive is currently a PhD student in Quantitative Biosciences being co-advised by Dr. David Hu and Dr. Young Hui. Cassie has been working on Conservation Technology and animal biomechanics projects and is workingon advancing large mammalian biomechanics.
Alper Kocak
Alper Kocak is a previous intern at MPI-IS that was was working with me on finite element modeling of animal sensing systems. Alper is now a Ph.D. student at Imperial College London and we continue to work on finalizing some of his intern projects.
Direct Mentees (nicknamed Schulz Squad)
Deepti Philip
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Deepti Philip is a Masters Thesis Student from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Gunther Richter on characterizing keratin biomaterials across length scales with SEM and nanoindentation.
Fatemeh Negar
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Fatemeh Negar is a Research Scientist in the Haptic Intelligence Department at MPI-IS working on building bio-inspired sensors for diverse applications using animal based sensors for inspiration.
Marcela Regina Esparza​
Marcela is a Masters Thesis Student in Materials Science from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Gunther Richter on nanomechanical characterization of metal nanoparticles.
Naomi (Ifu) Obinwa
Naomi Obinwa is a Robotics Institute Germany Intern for the Summer of 2025 working with me and Natalia Sanchez on characterizing new bio-inspired actuator and sensing mechanisms based on animal whiskers.
Natalia Gonzalez-Vazquez
Natalia Vazquez is a Masters Thesis Student in Materials Science from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Gunther Richter on functional Janus particles characterization across length and diameter scales.
Sophia Moell
Sophia Moell is a Bachelors Thesis Student in Physics from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Gunther Richter on bio-inspired sensors for quantum applications.
Svetlana Griego
Svetlana Griego is a Masters Thesis Student in Materials Science from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Gunther Richter on chemical and mechanical analysis of keratin biomaterials.
Ezgi Sezer
Ezgi Sezer is a Masters Thesis Student in Materials Science from University of Stuttgart working with me and Dr. Florian Hartmann on mechanical characterization of bio-inspired additive manufacturing techniques.
Consuelo Contreras (Guest)
Consuelo Contreras is a Ph.D. student working under the mentorship of Dr. Florian Hartmann at MPI-IS. Consuelo is working on several bio-inspired projects with Schulz Squad members and visits us occassionally.
Zoula Moell
Zoula Moell is our squad's doggo and mascot.