Steve Collins

Steve Collins is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, Bioengineering at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory. His research focus is speeding and systematizing the design of prostheses and exoskeletons using versatile emulator hardware (Zhang et al. 2017, Science) and algorithms for human-in-the-loop optimization (Slade et al., 2022 & 2024, Nature). Another interest is efficient autonomous devices, such as passive-dynamic walking robots (Collins et al. 2005, Science) and unpowered exoskeletons (Collins et al. 2015, Nature).

Prof. Collins received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2008. He performed postdoctoral research at T. U. Delft until 2010. He was a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University before joining Stanford in 2017. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Science Robotics. He has received the Young Scientist Award from the American Society of Biomechanics and the Best Medical Devices Paper from the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Prof. Collins teaches courses on design and robotics and acts as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford. He is the Faculty Director of making@stanford, the Clubhouse for Hardware Innovation Projects (CHIP), and the Product Realization Laboratory, facilities that support student learning through design and physical prototyping. His teaching has been recognized with student-voted awards including the Tau Beta Pi Teaching Honor Roll, a Terman Mentorship award, and Professor of the Year in his department.​​​​

Short version: Steve Collins is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, Bioengineering at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory. His research focus is speeding and systematizing the design of prostheses and exoskeletons using hardware emulators and human-in-the-loop optimization. Another interest is energy-efficient robotics. He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell (B.S., 2002) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D., 2008), and biorobotics at T. U. Delft (postdoc). He was a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University before joining Stanford in 2017. His awards include research recognition from the American Society of Biomechanics and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. He teaches courses on design and robotics, acts as Director of Undergraduate Studies for his department, and directs making@stanford. His teaching has been recognized with several student-voted awards.​​