Professor Metin Sitti has been serving as the President of Koç University in Istanbul since the fall of 2023. Prior to this role, he was the Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, from 2014 to 2023, where he was the only Turkish fellow of the Max Planck Society.
Professor Sitti’s research has opened new horizons and achieved significant scientific breakthroughs at the intersection of science, engineering, and technology, particularly in improving human health. His work encompasses a wide range of subjects in small-scale robotics and intelligent systems, including wireless miniature medical robots, bio-inspired adhesives, and physical intelligence.
He completed his undergraduate and master’s studies in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Boğaziçi University in 1992 and 1994, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo’s Department of Electrical Engineering in 1999. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a research scientist and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1999 to 2002. He then served as a tenured professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute and Department of Mechanical Engineering between 2002 and 2014. Additionally, he was a visiting professor at Harvard University, EPFL, and Sorbonne University between 2011 and 2012.
Throughout his career, Professor Sitti has received numerous accolades, including the Koç University Rahmi M. Koç Medal of Science in 2018 and the “Breakthrough of the Year” Award in Engineering and Technology at the Falling Walls World Science Summit in Berlin in 2020. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2024, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering for his distinguished contributions to engineering, particularly in bio-inspired adhesives and small-scale mobile robotics.
Professor Sitti’s leadership at Koç University reflects his commitment to advancing higher education and fostering innovation in science and technology.