Ritu Raman

Ritu Raman is a mechanical engineer and MIT researcher whose work connects living muscle, adaptive robots, and AI-assisted disease research. She earned mechanical engineering degrees at Cornell and Illinois, then worked with Taher Saif and Rashid Bashir on biological machines and studied responsive implants in Robert Langer’s MIT lab. In 2021, she joined MIT’s mechanical engineering faculty as an assistant professor and published Biofabrication with MIT Press. Her work includes a first-author guide to muscle-powered bio-bots, a magnetic workout gel, and artificial tendons for robots; she received the 2017 L’Oréal USA fellowship, the 2023 NSF CAREER Award, and the 2025 PECASE. In May 2026, she used Google DeepMind’s Co-Scientist with Ryan Flynn to explore ALS research directions; as of October 2026, she is an associate professor at MIT, where her group builds a light-guided, muscle-powered robot that swims through a maze.

Now at: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Works: 86
Citations: 2,881
h-index: 23

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

2012–2016

Mechanical engineering degrees

She earns a BS in mechanical engineering at Cornell in 2012, an MS at Illinois in 2013, and a PhD there in 2016 as an NSF Fellow. At Illinois, she works with Taher Saif and Rashid Bashir on the use of biological materials in mechanical machines.
2017

Bio-bots and a L’Oréal fellowship

In 2017, she is first author of a Nature Protocols guide to building muscle-powered bio-bots in Rashid Bashir’s group at Illinois’ Micro + Nanotechnology Lab. The guide explains 3D-printed skeletons, engineered skeletal-muscle actuators, and light-controlled steering. She receives the L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship in 2017.
2020–2021

From Langer Lab to MIT faculty

By 2020, she is a postdoctoral fellow in Robert Langer’s lab at MIT and studies responsive implantable devices that sense and respond to individual patients’ needs. In August 2021, she joins MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor and Brit and Alex d’Arbeloff Career Development Chair.
September 2021

Biofabrication at MIT Press

In September 2021, she publishes Biofabrication with MIT Press.
2023

NSF CAREER and MagMA

In 2023, she receives the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award and is the Brit and Alex d’Arbeloff Career Development Professor in Engineering Design at MIT. Her lab presents MagMA, a magnetic hydrogel mat that exercises muscle cells; the team finds that the fibers align and contract in sync.
2025

PECASE and artificial tendons

In 2025, she receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE); the Department of Defense nominates her for ARO-funded research on biological actuators in robots that sense and adapt. As an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, she leads a study of artificial hydrogel tendons that connect muscle actuators to robot skeletons; the team reports an 11-fold increase in a robot’s power-to-weight ratio.
May 2026

Co-Scientist and ALS research

In May 2026, she uses Google DeepMind’s Co-Scientist to examine ALS evidence in relation to her tissue model, turn ideas into testable hypotheses, and rank potential research directions. With Ryan Flynn, she combines ideas from the system to explore RNA mechanisms and potential RNA-based drugs for ALS.
As of October 2026

Associate professor and swimming robot

As of October 2026, she is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. In September 2026, her group develops a paper-thin robot powered by muscle cells that follows flashes of light through a watery maze.