SEBASTIAN SARTOR

SEBASTIAN SARTOR
PhD Student @MIT
I like robots 🦾

Hi, I'm Sebastian!

I'm a Mechanical Engineering PhD student at MIT, advised by Neil Thompson (at CSAIL and Sloan). My research is dedicated to understanding the intelligence of artificial physical systems (aka robots). Specifically, I focus on neural scaling laws and quantify the technical and economic foundations of progress. My goal is to advance general-purpose robotics while exploring the broader economic and societal implications of these systems. Overall, my work sits at the intersection of AI, robotics, manufacturing, and economics.

Previously, I was one of the doctoral students of the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) management team, finished my Masters in Management & Technology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), spend a semester abroad at UC Berkeley and supported innovation and entrepreneurship education at UnternehmerTUM. During my Masters, I also published two peer-reviewed papers, two preprints and contributed to a book. During my time at CDTM I supervised two published reports and two master thesis. I completed my Bachelor studies in Mechnical Engineering and Business Administration at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During that time I co-founded and led a team building an autonomous system for an electric race car competing at Formula Student competitions.

If you catch me outside of work, I’m an adventurous traveler (42 countries and counting), a casual Volleyball player and Cyclist (yes, I got three bicycles, worked once as bike mechanic too) and a passionate skier (yep, have been an instructor too). I also like to meet friends for a game night, cooking sessions, going out or full day trips to nearby lakes and mountains. I'm always on the hunt for new experiences and hobbies (e.g. background movie acting, diving, water skiing, indoor skydiving/ wind tunnel flying, analog photography, DNA analysis, windsurfing, …) and I love preparing surprises based on insiders and making ambitious bets (e.g. I need to cycle from Boston to SF until 2025). Besides that, I love to talk about almost everything but among my favorite topics are traveling, personal development (yes, I love deep talk and philosophical questions), Startups, and my research of course (or anything technology innovation related).

You can find more about my professional background on LinkedIn, my publications on Google Scholar and travel pictures on Instagram. You can contact me either via LinkedIn or email. I barely miss to answer any message and try to respond quickly 😊

What ChatGPT thinks of how I look :D

Apparently I still wear business casual with a blazer (which I do pretty much never), don't wear glasses anymore and seem to be working more in a lab instead of a fancy looking skyscraper with a nice view.

Nov. 24'

Jan 26'

Updates

🎓 Jan. 2026: I’ve completed my sailing and archery classes and plan to earn the MIT Pirate Certificate. Next up: air pistol and fencing!
🎓 Nov 2025: We launched the MIT FutureTech Substack called "Mixture of Experts"!
🎓 Nov 2025: I attended the MIT FutureTech Workshop on How fast will AI automation happen. I love research!
🎓 Sept 2025: I started my Mechanical Engineering PhD at MIT, advised by Neil Thompson. It feels like a sky with no roof! Let's go!
🎓 June 2025: I gave my first RSS workshop talk on Scaling laws in robotics. Slides are available here.

🎓 March 2025: I started teaching the CDTM Trendseminar on Policy Enabled Innovation, together with the Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs.

🎓 Nov. 2024: I had my TUM Master graduation. It's Sebastian Sartor M.Sc. now!

🎓 Nov. 2024: I attended the MIT FutureTech Workshop on the Role of AI in Science in Boston, USA. I love research!

🎓 Oct. 2024: I started the DeepTech Elective at CDTM. Science Entrepreneurship is cool!

🎓 Aug. 2024: I started teaching the CDTM Trendseminar on the Future of Software Engineering and IT Operations, together with BMW group.

🎓 June 2024: I joined the Management Team of Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) - let’s connect, educate and empower the innovators of tomorrow! With that, I become a doctoral student and conclude my Master studies.

🎓 June 2024: My latest paper on scaling laws for embodied AI/ robotics gets quite a bit media attention on X and in AI newsletters, e.g. from Nathan Benaich. Mission accomplished of working on something that is so relevant that other people share it 🚀

🎓 May 2024: New paper on neural scaling laws for robotics/ embodied AI available as an ArXiv preprint. (preprint)

💡 May 2024: I attended the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska and was fortunate to ask Warren Buffett a question in front of 40.000 people.

🎓 April 2024: New paper on Data Mesh was accepted at ECIS 2024. From seminar paper to conference paper - it’s possible! (paper)

🎓 Jan. 2024: I started my Master thesis. I love cutting-edge technology research.

🎓 Nov. 2023: New paper on Data Mesh submitted for peer-review at ECIS 2024. If accepted, this will be my second peer-reviewed publication 😋

💡 Oct. 2023: I'll run a workshop on research for students. Students should enjoy research! For further information click here.

💼 Oct. 2023: I’m now Senior Coach for the TechChallenge and Technology Entrepreneurship Lab at UnternehmerTUM for the winter term. I love teaching!

🎓 Oct. 2023: UC Berkeley featured me on their student stories blog. Check it out here.

🎓 Oct. 2023: I attended the MIT FutureTech Workshop on AI Scaling and its Implications in Boston, USA. I love research!

🌎 Sep. 2023: I launched the Study abroad Scholarships data base. Financial restrictions shouldn´t limit abroad education.

🌎 Sep. 2023: I launched the Study abroad as a Freemover data base. Students should follow their dreams!

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