Dr. Victoria Webster-Wood
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
- Scaife Hall 309
- 412 268 3017
- 412 268 3348
Scaife Hall 309
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Education
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2012
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M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2013
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Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2017
Bio
Dr. Webster-Wood received her B.S. in 2012, M.S. in 2013, and Ph.D. in 2017 in Mechanical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, receiving graduate support as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and GAANN Fellow in the Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab. She subsequently completed her postdoctoral training as a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow in the Tissue Fabrication and Mechanobiology Lab at the same institution.
Upon joining Carnegie Mellon University, she established the CMU Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group (B.O.R.G). The B.O.R.G.’s research focuses on the use of organic materials as structures, actuators, sensors, and controllers towards the development of biohybrid and organic robots and biohybrid prosthetics.
Research
Animals have long served as an inspiration for robotics. However, many of the mechanical properties, physical capabilities, and the behavioral flexibility seen in animals have yet to be achieved in robotic platforms. Towards addressing this gap, research in the CMU B.O.R.G focuses on the use of organic materials as structures, actuators, sensors, and controllers towards the development of biohybrid and organic robots and biohybrid prosthetics.
The research group’s long-term goal is to develop completely organic, autonomous robots with programmable neural circuits. Such robotic systems will have applications in search and rescue, environmental monitoring, and prosthetics.
Research Interests: bioinspired robotics; biohybrid robotics; cell & tissue engineering; biomaterials; organic actuators; organic control
Awards and Recognition
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T32 NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2017-2018
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TBP Graduate Fellowship, 2015-2016
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NSF Graduate Fellowship, 2012-2015
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Best Paper, Living Machines 2016