Engineering Nature: From Biology to Plant-inspired Robots for Ecosystem Conservation

April 7, 2025 @ 12:15 pm to 01:15 pm

Isabella Fiorello, University of Frieburg, Germany

108 Wartik Laboratory
University Park

Abstract:
Plants, with their exceptional evolutionary adaptations to diverse habitats, provide an ideal inspiration for robotics and engineering. When miniaturized, plant-inspired machines can navigate confined and complex surfaces. We introduce a new class of microfabricated, plant-inspired hybrid machines designed for multifunctional tasks like in situ monitoring and targeted cargo delivery. These machines combine a bioinspired design with biohybrid approaches, incorporating the morphological and biomechanical features of natural plants. Advanced techniques, including microcomputed tomography, two-photon lithography, and bioprinting, enable the creation of scalable, sustainable prototypes. This technology highlights the potential of plant-inspired biohybrids in environmental protection and advanced engineering, with wide-ranging impacts in material science, soft robotics, and beyond.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Isabella Fiorello is a Junior Group Leader at the Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive, and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) at the University of Freiburg, where she leads the Biohybrid Machines group. Since October 2023, she has also been a Fulbright Visiting researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (USA). She obtained her Master’s Degree in Industrial Biotechnology (with honors) from the University of Turin (Italy) in 2017 and her PhD in Biorobotics (with honors) from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa, Italy) in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory at the Italian Institute of Technology (Genoa, Italy). Throughout her career, Dr. Fiorello has received prestigious international awards, including the Young Researcher of the Year – ENI Award 2022, an Early Career National Geographic Grant, and a Fulbright Scholar. Her research focuses on developing biologically-inspired microfabricated living materials capable of precise interactions with complex, unstructured surfaces, with applications in precision agriculture, smart fabrics, space exploration, and soft robotics.

Contact

Alisa Chernikova
azc6415@psu.edu