Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Founder and CEO, Parallel Robotics

Dr. Shorya Awtar’s engineering interests include precision machine design, mechanisms and transmissions, mechatronic and robotic systems, and human-centric design. Via research and innovations these areas, he has created affordable medical devices for minimally invasive surgery, precision motion stages for semiconductor metrology, motion sickness mitigation solutions for autonomous vehicles, among several other technologies. Ongoing projects in his lab include powered prostheses, rehab robotics, human-machine biomechanical and sensory motor interfaces, and flexible system dynamics and controls.

Dr. Awtar has founded multiple startup companies including FlexDex Surgical, HIPERNAP, and Parallel Robotics that focus on product development, manufacturing, and commercialization. He previously worked at the General Electric Global Research Center (2004-2006) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (2003). He earned his Mechanical Engineering degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology – Kanpur (BTech, 1998), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (MS, 2000), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ScD, 2004). He has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed research articles and has three dozen inventions that are either patented or patent-pending in the areas of parallel kinematics, compliant mechanisms, flexible system dynamics, human factors, medical devices, MEMS actuators, electromagnetic actuators, nanopositioning stages, and advanced seals for turbomachinery.

Dr. Awtar has received the Leonardo daVinci Award and Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Goel Award for Translational Research from the American Society of Biomechanics, multiple R&D100 Awards, and several Best Paper awards for his research, innovations, tech transfer, and societal impact. He is a Fellow of the ASME and a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses as well as professional industry tutorials in precision engineering, mechatronic systems, product development and innovation, and entrepreneurship. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum to create educational exhibits for K-12 children.

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