Metin Sitti is a world-renowned roboticist and visionary leader in the field of intelligent materials and robotics systems. Currently serving as President of Koç University in Istanbul since fall 2023 he previously founded and directed the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart from 2014 to 2023. He earned his BSc and MSc degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul in 1992 and 1994 followed by a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1999. His distinguished academic journey includes professorships at ETH Zurich Carnegie Mellon University and research positions at UC Berkeley demonstrating his international leadership across premier scientific institutions.
Dr. Sitti's groundbreaking research focuses on small-scale mobile robotics bio-inspired systems and wireless medical devices with transformative contributions to physical intelligence and microscale engineering. His laboratory's development of gecko-inspired microfiber adhesive technology led to the founding of Setex Technologies Inc. commercializing this innovation as Setex® for diverse industrial applications. He has published over 400 journal articles authored two books and holds more than 12 issued and 18 pending patents with his work recognized by his designation as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2021 2022 and 2023. His scientific impact extends to medical robotics where his innovations in wireless medical devices have opened new pathways for minimally invasive procedures and targeted therapies.
As an influential mentor Dr. Sitti has supervised and trained over 70 PhD students and 70 postdoctoral researchers since 2002 with more than 50 of his former group members now holding faculty positions at prestigious institutions worldwide including Cornell ETH Zurich and Mayo Clinic. He serves as editor-in-chief of Progress in Biomedical Engineering and Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics and as associate editor for Science Advances shaping scholarly discourse in his interdisciplinary fields. His leadership extends to institutional roles having served as Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems during 2015-2017 and 2021 and as an executive board member of the International Max Planck Research School. As President of Koç University he continues to champion cutting-edge research that bridges engineering medicine and materials science positioning Turkish academia at the forefront of global scientific innovation.
