Buse Aktas

Dr. Buse Aktas is an acclaimed engineer, artist, and Max Planck Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, where she directs the Robotic Composites and Compositions (RoCoCo) Group.

Dr. Aktas’s highly interdisciplinary research lies at the intersection of materials science, robotics, design, and art. Her focus is on developing active material systems that possess programmable mechanical behavior, enabling soft robots to have smarter, more adaptable bodies.

Her pioneering work has centered on utilizing the phenomenon of jamming—where components undergo tunable phase transitions—to create functional metamaterials. These innovations have broad applications, including advanced robotic manipulators, wearable medical devices, and surgical tools.

She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and a B.S.E. from Princeton University (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with a certificate in Visual Arts). She is recognized for her academic innovation, transdisciplinary research, and commitment to applied technology, exemplified by her early development of a device to assist individuals with disabilities in the assembly process.