Steve Collins is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, where he teaches courses on design and robotics and directs the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory. His primary focus is to speed and systematize the design and prescription of prostheses and exoskeletons using versatile device emulator hardware and human-in-the-loop optimization algorithms (Zhang et al. 2017, Science). Another interest is efficient autonomous devices, such as highly energy-efficient walking robots (Collins et al. 2005, Science) and exoskeletons that use no energy yet reduce the metabolic energy cost of human walking (Collins et al. 2015, Nature).

Prof. Collins received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2002 from Cornell University, where he performed research on passive dynamic walking robots with Andy Ruina. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from the University of Michigan, where he performed research on the dynamics and control of human walking with Art Kuo. He performed postdoctoral research on humanoid robots with Martijn Wisse at T. U. Delft in the Netherlands. He was a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University for seven years. In 2017, he joined the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.