Hannah Stuart

Hannah Stuart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, where she leads a research group focused on advancing dexterous manipulation for robots operating in complex and unstructured environments. Her work centers on end-effectors, hands, and mechanisms that integrate embodied intelligence and robustness, drawing inspiration from biological systems. Stuart’s group investigates novel gripper and exoskeleton designs, tactile sensing for autonomous and teleoperated tasks, and bioinspired strategies that enhance manipulation in challenging contexts such as marine systems, search-and-rescue, and field robotics. Her research vision combines fundamental design theory, analytical modeling, and real-world validation, bridging engineering innovation with practical robotic applications. Through multidisciplinary work in dynamics, mechanism design, perception, and human–robot interaction, her lab aims to develop manipulation capabilities that enable robots to perform tasks traditionally limited to human dexterity.