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Tommaso Ranzani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and in the Division of Materials Science and Engineering at Boston University. His research focuses on exploring different technologies and developing manufacturing paradigms to design and fabricate innovative robotic systems. His main research area is soft robotics. He has explored soft robotic technologies to develop novel manipulators, which integrate design principles from biological systems to perform advanced procedures in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). He is interested in expanding the potential of soft robots across different scales to develop novel reconfigurable soft-bodied robots.

Prof. Ranzani received a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy. He did his Ph.D. at the BioRobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies under the supervision of Prof. Arianna Menciassi on soft mechatronic devices for MIS, working in the framework of the STIFF-FLOP European project. In 2014, he joined the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as a postdoctoral fellow. He worked in the Harvard Microrobotics Lab (Prof. Robert J. Wood) and the Harvard Biodesign Lab (Prof. Conor Walsh). In his postdoctoral research, he explored advanced manufacturing technologies for novel medical devices. His research focuses on soft meso- and micro-scale reconfigurable robotic devices integrating microfluidic capabilities and exploiting layer-by-layer manufacturing processes.

orcid.org/0000-0001-8362-3710

Email: tranzani@bu.edu

Ph.D. students

Kevin J. McDonald (he/him)
PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, 5th Year
LinkedIn | Research

Kevin’s research explores hardware methods for controlling fluidically actuated soft robots, specifically via the use of magnetic fluids and electropermanent magnets. He graduated from Northeastern University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Jacob Rogatinsky (he/him)
PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, 3rd Year
LinkedIn | Research

Jacob’s research interests lie in surgical robotics and translational medicine. With a primary focus on the cardiovascular system, Jacob hopes that novel robotic designs and control methods will make beating-heart interventions widely accessible. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2019.

Lorenzo Kinnicutt
PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, 2nd Year
LinkedIn | Research

Lorenzo’s research interests include surgical robots, soft sensing, and magnetic actuation. He joined the Morphable Biorobotics Lab as an undergraduate in 2018, then earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University in 2020.

Leah T. Gaeta (she/her)
PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, 2nd Year
LinkedIn | Research

Leah’s research interests include sensing, actuation, and stiffening strategies in soft wearable and medical robotics. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Human Biology from the University of Southern California in 2013 and then came to Boston University to study engineering before pursuing her doctorate.

Pranav Sultania (he/him)
PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering, 1st Year
LinkedIn | Research

Pranav’s research interests include sensing, controls, grasping, and locomotion strategies in soft robotics. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University in 2021 and Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Robotics and Control Systems) from Columbia University in 2022. He then came back to Boston University to pursue his Doctorate.

Master Students