The Speakers

Prof. Dr. Saravana Prashanth Murali Babu

Prof. Esther Amstad

Esther Amstad studied material science at ETH in Zurich where she also carried out her PhD thesis on the steric stabilization of iron oxide nanoparticles. She performed a Postdoc at Harvard University where she developed microfluidic devices for example to produce calibrated emulsion drops at high throughputs. In 2014, she joined the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in the institute of Materials where she got promoted to an Associate Professor in 2021. She heads the Soft Materials Laboratory (SMAL) that introduces drop- and microparticle-based processes to fabricate functional load-bearing granular materials that can be used, for example, in soft robotics.

Prof. Dr. Bilge Baytekin

Bilge Baytekin is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Chemistry Department of Bilkent University. She received her Ph.D. from Freie Universitat Berlin and pursued her postdoctoral studies (2009-2014) at Northwestern University. Her research interests include static electricity, organic and polymer mechanochemistry, smart materials, and soft robotics. She received many awards including the Loreal UNESCO for Women in Science (Turkey) and the Rising Star Award from the Electrostatics Society of America (ESA).

Prof. Dr. Linnea Hesse

Linnea Hesse is a Junior Professor for Biomimetics (W1TTW2) at the Institute for Wood Science, University of Hamburg. She specializes in functional plant imaging, biomechanics and biomimetics. She previously led a research group at the Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg under the Margarete von Wrangell-Habilitation Program, following her roles as a PhD and postdoctoral researcher Plant Biomechanics Group at the University of Freiburg. Linnea Studied biology at the University of Mainz and TU Dresden. Her research has been supported by prestigious fellowships and grants, and she is actively involved in academic self-governance, serving as a jury member for the Joachim Herz Stiftung and DAAD, a reviewer for international journals, and an editor for Trees.

Prof. Dr. Saravana Prashanth Murali Babu

Saravana Prashanth Murali Babu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), where he leads his “Sustainable Soft Robotics” research at SDU Soft Robotics. His work focuses on developing sustainable, bioinspired soft robots to tackle environmental challenges through accessible and innovative approaches in design, fabrication, and control. Saravana’s contributions in advancing soft robotics, particularly in bioinspired locomotion, modular design, and the development of eco-friendly, biodegradable robots for multi-terrain exploration. His research draws inspiration from the dynamic movements of small animals, particularly invertebrates, using them as models for soft robotics. By bridging biological inspiration with engineering innovation, his work drives robotics toward sustainability and the creation of eco-conscious technologies. Saravana envisions establishing a high-standard platform for biodegradable robotics, advancing technologies that align with and support planetary health.

Prof. Dr. Aniket Pal

Aniket Pal is currently a junior professor at the Institute of Applied Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Germany. Previously he was a Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. He obtained his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2020, working on soft robotics and flexible biosensors; and his B.Eng. from Jadavpur University. The research interests of his research group are soft robotics, mechanical metamaterials, and mechanical instabilities; with applications in biomedical devices and mechanical computation.

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