Adam A. Stokes
Welcome to my personal webpage, where you’ll find a collection of essays on topics I’m actively trying to understand. These are not static publications but live documents that evolve over time as I think in public, refine my views, and respond to new ideas and conversations. If you wish to discuss anything I’ve written, or wish to engage with me on a project or a talk, then please contact me. My primary email address is a.a.stokes@ed.ac.uk.I am Full Professor and Head of the Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Edinburgh and a research-led advisor on robotics, AI, and bioinspired innovation. Outside of the academy I am an active entrepreneur and consultant. I work with organisations to stress-test assumptions about emerging technologies and chart practical paths from prototype to deployment. These essays capture the thinking behind that work—I offer them as a public resource and also as an invitation to collaborate.
My most recent post is shown below, see all essays here.
Bioengineering, Bioinspiration, and Biomimetics
I made a significant career shift in January 2025: moving towards Bioengineering, Bioinspiration, and Biomimetics. I was appointed as Head of The Institute for Bioengineering at The University of Edinburgh. This live essay covers my motivation for this shift and outlines some of the directions that I am pursuing via this leadership role. Background and Motivation In 2023 I gave a talk to the Institute for Engineers in Scotland which was all about my journey and my interest in Bioengineering, Bioinspiration, and Biomimetics. This talk has been transcribed and recorded in the Transactions of the Journal of the Institute, and preparing for that talk really did give me some cause for reflection on my journey and future plans. I was born in Scotland into a religious family, my father was a minister. Whilst, at that time, my father studied the spiritual, I found myself drawn to the material. I questioned how the world worked and took things apart to find the answers. This curiosity...