Professor Adam A. Stokes B.Eng(Hons), M.Res, PhD, MIET, MYAS
Summary:
I am Full Professor and Chair of Bioinspired Engineering in the School of Engineering at The University of Edinburgh. I hold degrees in engineering, biomedical science, and analytical chemistry. I have successfully secured more than £60M as consortium research funding from EPSRC and InnovateUK, with around £5M directed specifically to my research group. I was the Academic-PI on the £6.5M InnovateUK “Connect-R” grant and was part of the core team for the £40M ORCA Hub. My pioneering research in Soft Robotics and Soft Systems has received over 6000 citations, with publications in leading scientific journals including Science, PNAS, and Advanced Intelligent Systems. I am one of the four founding Co-Leads of The National Robotarium, the UK centre of excellence in robotics, which was founded as a result of a £20M capital investment from the City Region Deal in Edinburgh for Hubs in Data Driven Innovation. I also serve as the Deputy Director and am a founding member of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, we’re recently secured funding for a new Centre for Doctoral Training in “Dependable and Deployable AI for Robotics” which will train ~80 PhD students in this exciting new area. I serve as a member of the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition of 1851’s Industry and Engineering Committee and as Associate Editor for the Journal of Soft Robotics. I lead a team of approximately 20 people in my interdisciplinary research laboratory – The Soft Systems Group – where we focus on the intersection of next-generation robotics technology, bioelectronics, and bioinspired engineering. Outside of the academy, I am a founder of several companies in the health-tech and robotics fields and am currently the Academic in Residence with Archangels Investors Ltd. My leadership in entrepreneurial activities has been recognised by winning the Inaugural Data Driven Entrepreneurship (DDE) Academic Entrepreneurship Award, and the Principal’s Award for Innovation.
Academic Career:
2022-Present Professor and Personal Chair of Bioinspired Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
2022-Present Founding Co-Lead of the UK National Robotarium
2021-2022 Reader in Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
2020 Principal’s Award for Innovation.
2019-Present Deputy Head of Research Institute, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems.
2019-2021 Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
2014 Elected as a Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland
2012-2019 Lecturer, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
2010-2012 Harvard University, Fellow, George M. Whitesides Group, Dept of Chemistry and Chemical Biology & The Wyss Institute for Bioinspired Engineering
Entrepreneurial:
2023 Formal Appointment as Academic in Residence to ArchAngels Investors Ltd.
2022 Winner of the Scottish Edge Main Competition – Mask Logic Ltd.
2021 Winner of the Inaugural Data Driven Entrepreneurship (DDE) Academic Entrepreneurship Award
2020 Took Fluidic Logic Ltd. through the ICURe Programme
Founded Fluidic Logic Ltd. and Mask Logic Ltd.
2018 Selected for Innovate UK Innovation Lab, awarded £6.5M for Connect-R project
2014 Member of Scotland Can Do Scale Programme (MIT & Harvard Entrepreneurship Development Programme)
2013 Founded FabLab+, prototyping and engineering consultancy
2012 Soft Robotics Inc. founded in USA based upon Harvard patent portfolio
2010 Patent from PhD used to found Deurion Ltd.
University Education:
2007-2010 The University of Edinburgh, PhD, Biophysical Chemistry and Electronic Engineering.
2006-2007 The University of Edinburgh & The University of Glasgow, M.Res, Biomedical Sciences
2002-2006 The University of Edinburgh, B.Eng(Hons), Electronics and Electrical Engineering