Michelle Quan

Soft robots enable safer interactions between humans and robots. For example, soft robots have the potential to revolutionize minimally invasive surgeries. Conventional robots with rigid components are strong and well-suited for assembling cars, but robotic components used within the body must be flexible and soft to avoid damaging organs and tissues. Control over movement—actuation—is a key challenge; user intervention and stimulation by non-natural methods are often required to guide robots within the body. I aspire to create the next generation of muscle-mimetic materials—actuators that respond to natural signals in the body instead of external controls. I study bacterial proteins that contract in response to calcium, akin to the behavior of muscle tissue, a natural actuator. By studying molecular-scale changes that cause contraction and relaxation of proteins, I will design new materials that contract faster or with less stimulation, which are ideal for complex applications such as minimally invasive surgeries.