Metin Sitti

President and Professor of Koç University, Former Max Planck Director, Former ETH Zurich Professor

Overview

Metin Sitti is the current President and Professor at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. He is a highly accomplished scientist and engineer known for his pioneering work in wireless tiny medical robots, gecko-inspired adhesives, and bio-inspired miniature robots.1 2 3 4

Career Highlights

Became President of Koç University in fall 2023 after serving as a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany from 2014-20231 3 5
Previously held positions at ETH Zurich, Carnegie Mellon University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Tokyo2 3 4
Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the USA in 2024 for his contributions to bioinspired adhesives and small-scale mobile robotics5 6
Named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate in 2021, 2022, and 20235
Recipient of numerous awards including the Breakthrough of the Year Award from the Falling Walls World Science Summit (2020), ERC Advanced Grant (2019), Rahmi Koç Medal of Science (2018), and NSF CAREER Award (2005)2 3 4

Research Focus

Sitti's research focuses on developing wireless miniature medical robots that can navigate, operate, and stay inside the human body to perform functions like local drug delivery, clot opening, liquid biopsy, and hyperthermia.3 4 His team uses 3D microprinting, soft composites, and external magnetic fields to create these implantable medical robots.3

Entrepreneurship

In addition to his academic work, Sitti co-founded Setex Technologies Inc. in Pittsburgh, USA in 2012 to commercialize his lab's gecko-inspired microfiber adhesive technology.2 4

Impact

Sitti has published over 400 journal articles, 2 books, and has over 30 issued and pending patents.2 4 He has supervised and mentored over 70 PhD students and 70 postdocs, with over 50 of his alumni now professors around the world.4 His research has been featured extensively in popular media outlets.2