Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Katherine J. Kuchenbecker’s research aims to leverage scientific knowledge on the sense of touch to create haptic interfaces. These could enable a user to interact with virtual objects and distant environments as though they were real and within reach. She actively collaborates with clinicians in many specialties to refine the research for practical use in medicine and medical training.

Kuchenbecker performs this role as a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, where she leads the Haptic Intelligence Department. She earned her Ph.D. at Stanford University in 2006, did postdoctoral research at the Johns Hopkins University, and was an engineering professor in the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2016.

Her research blends robotics and human-computer interaction with particular foci in haptics, teleoperation, physical human-robot interaction, tactile sensing, and medical applications.

She describes her goal as elevating the understanding of haptic feedback while uncovering new opportunities for its use in interactions between humans, computers, and machines. We look forward to a fascinating presentation on these exciting topics at and& Leuven.