PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Nikolaus Correll

Nikolaus Correll is a robotics researcher whose work connects robot swarms with materials that combine sensing, actuation, computation and communication. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich and ETH Zürich, earned a PhD at EPFL, and worked as a postdoc at MIT CSAIL from 2007 to 2009. At CU Boulder, his team built tiny swarm robots; he coauthored a Science review and a 2019 report on robotic materials, then coauthored the textbook Introduction to Autonomous Robots. He received research awards in 2012, became CTO and founder of Robotic Materials Inc. by 2018, and is a professor in Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering and an adjunct professor in Computer Science at CU Boulder as of October 2026.

Born
1977
Works
159
Citations
6,251
h-index
35
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2000–2003

    Electrical engineering at ETH

    In 2000, he completes a Vordiplom in electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich. In spring 2003, he graduates in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich).

  2. 2003–2007

    Doctoral work at EPFL

    In 2007, he completes a PhD at EPFL after doctoral work in the Swarm Intelligent Systems Group.

  3. 2007–2009

    A postdoc at MIT

    From 2007 to 2009, he works as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT CSAIL.

  4. 2012

    A swarm of tiny robots

    In 2012, he and his CU Boulder team develop a pingpong-ball-sized robotic building block for swarm systems. He receives an NSF CAREER award and a NASA Early Career Faculty Fellowship in 2012.

  5. 2015–2019

    Robotic materials research

    In 2015, he coauthors a Science review with Michael McEvoy on materials that couple sensing, actuation, computation and communication. In 2019, he coauthors a report on robotic materials, which describes them as materials able to sense and impact their environment.

  6. 2018

    CTO at Robotic Materials

    By 2018, he is CTO and founder of Robotic Materials Inc., where he develops robotic grippers with built-in 3D perception, tactile sensing and computation.

  7. 2022

    Introduction to Autonomous Robots

    In 2022, he coauthors Introduction to Autonomous Robots: Mechanisms, Sensors, Actuators, and Algorithms with Bradley Hayes, Christoffer Heckman and Alessandro Roncone. The MIT Press textbook introduces computational principles of autonomous robotics.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at CU Boulder

    As of October 2026, he is a professor in Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering and an adjunct professor in Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. In Spring 2026, he is the primary instructor for Basic Robotic Behaviors and Odometry.

Career

  1. Since 2010University of Colorado BoulderProfessor
  2. From 2018Robotic Materials Inc.CTO and Founder
  3. 2007–2009MIT CSAILPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. 2007EPFLPhD
  2. 2003ETH ZurichElectrical engineering degree
  3. 2000Technical University of MunichVordiplom in electrical engineering

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Soft Robotics: Review of Fluid‐Driven Intrinsically Soft Devices; Manufacturing, Sensing, Control, and Applications in Human‐Robot Interaction2017 · Advanced Engineering Materials · 1,064 citations
  2. Materials that couple sensing, actuation, computation, and communication2015 · Science · 650 citations
  3. Social Integration of Robots into Groups of Cockroaches to Control Self-Organized Choices2007 · Science · 503 citationsWith Alcherio Martinoli, Francesco Mondada and Roland Siegwart
  4. Analysis and Observations From the First Amazon Picking Challenge2016 · IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering · 426 citationsWith Oliver Brock and Pete Wurman
  5. Reducing the Barrier to Entry of Complex Robotic Software: a MoveIt! Case Study2014 · 350 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Nikolaus Correll. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Colorado. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Colorado. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Nikolaus Correll yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Nikolaus Correll ‒ DISAL ‐ EPFL epfl.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Correll, Nikolaus J | CU Experts | CU Boulder experts.colorado.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Robotics Seminars | Robotics Program | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. CU-Boulder team develops swarm of pingpong ball-sized robots | CU Boulder Today colorado.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. 'Science' article outlines advances, challenges for robotic materials | Computer Science | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. [1903.10480] Robotic Materials arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Robots Getting a Grip on General Manipulation | IEEE Spectrum spectrum.ieee.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Introduction To Autonomous Robots introduction-to-autonomous-robots.github.io. Checked 20 October 2026.