Marc Miskin

Marc Miskin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Nanorobotics Lab. His research aims to build fully autonomous machines that operate at the cellular scale—robots that can walk, explore, sense, communicate, and compute while being small enough to navigate biological environments. Miskin develops new fabrication paradigms that leverage nanoscale materials, atomic layer deposition, microscale origami, and ultrathin mechanical structures to create robots that can be manufactured en masse yet possess programmable locomotion and functionality. His work spans the mechanics of 2D materials, micro-actuation strategies, shape-programmable structures, and gait optimization for micron-scale legged robots. A key goal of his research is to develop an integrated platform for cell-scale robotics that incorporates locomotion, sensing, communication, memory, and control, enabling these machines to interface with, manipulate, and ultimately augment biological systems. His group’s efforts push the boundaries of nanoscience and robotics, exploring how autonomous systems behave when radically miniaturized.