PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Shane Farritor

Shane Farritor is an engineering professor whose MIRA surgical system is designed to use computer assistance and artificial intelligence. He earned degrees at Nebraska and MIT, joined the university’s mechanical engineering faculty in 1998, and co-founded Virtual Incision in 2006. His robotics research covers cooperative planetary robots and highway safety; Virtual Incision’s miniature robot performed complex surgical tasks inside a living human during a 2016 feasibility trial. MIRA received FDA marketing authorization for adult colectomy procedures in February 2024, and Farritor described its AI design in March 2024. In 2025, he placed second in the PMU–NAI International Patent Award; as of October 2026, he is a Nebraska engineering professor and Virtual Incision’s chief technology officer.

Now at
University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Virtual Incision
Works
182
Citations
2,738
h-index
28
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1992–1998

    Degrees at Nebraska and MIT

    He earns a B.S. from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1992, an M.S. from MIT in 1994, and a Ph.D. from MIT in 1998.

  2. 1998

    Joining the Nebraska faculty

    In 1998, he joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty at Nebraska after work in MIT’s Field and Space Robotics Laboratory and the Unmanned Vehicle Lab at C.S. Draper Laboratories.

  3. 2004–2005

    Planetary and highway robotics papers

    In 2004, he coauthors a paper on cooperative robots for planetary cliff descent. In 2005, he coauthors a paper on robotic highway safety markers.

  4. 2006

    Co-founding Virtual Incision

    In 2006, he co-founds Virtual Incision, a Lincoln company developing a smaller surgical robot for minimally invasive procedures.

  5. 2016

    A miniature robot’s first human surgery

    In 2016, Virtual Incision’s device becomes the first miniaturized robot to perform complex surgical tasks inside a living human in a feasibility trial.

  6. 2024

    FDA authorization for MIRA

    In February 2024, MIRA receives FDA marketing authorization for use in adults undergoing colectomy procedures. In March 2024, Farritor describes MIRA as a robotics platform designed to use computer assistance and artificial intelligence.

  7. 2025

    A PMU–NAI patent award

    In 2025, he places second in the PMU–NAI International Patent Award.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and surgical robot CTO

    He is the David B. and Nancy K. Lederer Professor of Engineering at Nebraska and a co-founder and chief technology officer of Virtual Incision. For 2025–2026, his NASA Nebraska Space Grant project studies a robotic system for crop inspection, tending, and harvesting in small-scale space agriculture.

Career

  1. Since 2006Virtual IncisionCo-founder, Chief Technology Officer
  2. Since 1998University of Nebraska–LincolnDavid B. and Nancy K. Lederer Professor of Engineering
  3. 1996Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Education

  1. 1998Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPh.D.
  2. 1994Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyM.S.
  3. 1992University of Nebraska–LincolnB.S.

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

Most-cited works

  1. On Low-Frequency Electric Power Generation With PZT Ceramics2005 · IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics · 294 citations
  2. The Use of Piezoelectric Ceramics for Electric Power Generation Within Orthopedic Implants2005 · IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics · 232 citations
  3. Natural orifice cholecystectomy using a miniature robot2008 · Surgical Endoscopy · 164 citations
  4. Localization and follow-the-leader control of a heterogeneous group of mobile robots2006 · IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics · 120 citations
  5. A dynamic voltage scaling algorithm for sporadic tasks2004 · International Symposium on System-on-Chip · 97 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 Shane Farritor. 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. 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.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Nebraska–Lincoln. 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 Shane Farritor yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Shane Farritor | Mechanical & Materials Engineering | College of Engineering | Nebraska engineering.unl.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Advice for future Nebraska entrepreneurs: 'Just go and just do it' | Nebraska Public Media nebraskapublicmedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. University of Nebraska spinoff company receives major investment | Nebraska Today news.unl.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Virtual Incision’s MIRA Surgical System to be Featured Among Elite AI-Enabled Innovations at NVIDIA GTC virtualincision.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Nebraska-developed surgical robot receives FDA approval | Nebraska Today news.unl.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. PMU-NAI International Patent Award academyofinventors.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Meet the Staff | Innovation Studio | Nebraska innovationstudio.unl.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Faculty 2025-2026 | NASA Nebraska Space Grant nespacegrant.org. Checked 20 October 2026.