PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Robert F. Shepherd

Robert Shepherd is a Cornell robotics researcher whose soft machines connect materials, sensing and actuation with autonomous systems. He earned a bachelor's and doctorate in materials science at Illinois, completed an MBA there, and developed pneumatic actuators as a postdoctoral fellow in George Whitesides’s Harvard group. His work produced the 2011 multigait soft robot and a 2012 microfluidic camouflage study; in 2016, his group built a soft prosthetic hand and proposed machine learning to separate its sensor signals. The National Academy of Inventors named him to its 2022 Senior Member class; he received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award in 2017 and Cornell’s 2025 Research Excellence Award. He is a Cornell mechanical engineering professor and directs graduate studies for the department.

Works
170
Citations
23,095
h-index
62

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2002–2010

    Materials science degrees

    He earns a B.S. in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois in 2002, an M.B.A. in general management there in 2009, and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering in 2010. His doctoral work develops polymeric and colloidal suspensions as inks for 3D printers.

  2. 2010

    A Harvard postdoc

    In 2010, he joins George Whitesides’s research group in Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology as a postdoctoral fellow. There, he develops pneumatic actuators in soft elastomers that walk and undulate.

  3. 2011

    A multigait soft robot

    In 2011, he coauthors “Multigait soft robot,” a quadruped made from elastomeric polymers and powered pneumatically. Its crawling and undulation gaits carry it over a difficult obstacle.

  4. 2012

    Camouflage and display

    In 2012, he coauthors a paper on microfluidic networks that change soft machines’ color, contrast, pattern, apparent shape, luminescence and surface temperature.

  5. December 2016

    Sensing inside a soft hand

    In December 2016, a Cornell team led by Shepherd publishes a soft prosthetic hand with stretchable optical waveguides that sense curvature, elongation and force. The team tests the hand on three tomatoes, and its planned follow-up work considers machine learning to separate signals from larger sensor arrays.

  6. 2017

    An ONR Young Investigator Award

    In 2017, Cornell assistant professor Robert Shepherd joins 33 scientists selected to receive an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program award.

  7. 2022

    An NAI senior member

    In 2022, the National Academy of Inventors announces a Senior Member class that lists Robert Shepherd at Cornell University.

  8. 2025

    Cornell Research Excellence Award

    In 2025, Cornell Engineering names him among its Research Excellence Award recipients and identifies him as John F. Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The Cornell Chronicle describes his soft robotics systems as combining flexible materials, distributed sensing and novel actuation strategies.

  9. As of October 2026

    Professor and graduate studies director

    As of October 2026, he is the John F. Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Graduate Studies for Mechanical Engineering in Cornell’s Sibley School. His research interests include robotics and autonomy, materials design, and advanced manufacturing and materials.

Career

  1. NowCornell UniversityJohn F. Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Graduate Studies for Mechanical Engineering
  2. From 2010Harvard UniversityPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. 2010University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignPh.D. in materials science and engineering
  2. 2009University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignM.B.A. in general management
  3. 2002University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignB.S. in materials science and engineering

From the biography.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Robert F. Shepherd yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Robert F. Shepherd | Cornell Duffield Engineering duffield.cornell.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  2. Multigait soft robot | PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 26 October 2026.
  3. Camouflage and Display for Soft Machines | Science in the Classroom scienceintheclassroom.org. Checked 26 October 2026.
  4. Engineers get under robot’s skin to heighten senses | Cornell Chronicle news.cornell.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  5. Aye, Shepherd win Young Investigator awards from Navy | Cornell Chronicle news.cornell.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  6. WPI Professor, Yan Wang, announced as a member of the new class of NAI Senior Members wpi.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  7. Robotics, exoplanets, quantum theory earn Research Excellence Awards | Cornell Chronicle news.cornell.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.