Prof. Dr. Ardian Jusufi conducted his formal training at U.C. Berkeley, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge, UK.
After first working as a lecturer at Sydney Robotics Institute from 2016, Ardian was appointed as independent Max Planck Research Group Leader [~Associate Professor] in 2018, where he served as Faculty at International Max Planck Research School IMPRS-IS and Associate Faculty of the ETH Center for Learning Systems through 2023. He was a research group leader at the Engineering Sciences Department of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology from 2022 through 2025. Ardian is Honorary Associate Professor of Macquarie University. Ardian was an Associate group leader of the ETH and University of Zürich Institute for NeuroInformatics INI from 2022 through 2025 when he transitioned full time. As an Editor of Institute of Physics Publishing Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, he handles peer-reviewed articles in his area of expertise encompassing biomimetic materials and mechanisms, experimental robotics, soft robotics, biomechanics and functional morphology.
Prof. Dr. Ardian Jusufi positions his highly interdisciplinary research at the interface of engineering robotics, materials science, and biomechanics. He specializes on soft active materials, biomimetics, and robotics inspired by original biomechanical discovery. Ardian is a pioneer in the biorobotic investigation of robust locomotion of robots underpinned by his discoveries of tails as control appendages enabling rapid disturbance rejection and multi-modal transitions. His research has been featured in leading journals including PNAS and Nature (both cover articles), Nature Communications bio, as well as Soft Robotics, Advanced Engineering Materials, and Current Biology.
With a goal to achieve the dream of life-like movement, he integrates soft actuators and flexible sensors made of hyperelastic silicone elastomers (containing liquid metal) and embeds them into a diving, soft robotic fish, for instance. Their integration enables new skills in swimming and arboreal robots to increase their ability to overcome obstacles. In contrast to robots with mostly hard components, the musculoskeletal system is capable of adapting to multiple dynamic perturbations simultaneously. Life-like movement not only expands upon robot capability, it also enables original discovery in experimental biomechanics. His research integrates robotics, ‘smart’ materials, with comparative biomechanics. In this spirit, Prof. Dr. Ardian Jusufi is a leader in robot locomotion enabled by biomimetic materials and mechanisms.
Curriculum Vitae:
Most of formal training took place at the University of California at Berkeley, CA, USA.
He moved to the University of Cambridge where he was a Queens' College Postdoctoral Research Associate.
Subsequently, Ardian was a research scientist at Harvard University, under the supervision of Prof. Wood of the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically-Inspired Engineering.
He was a lecturer at University of Technology in Sydney before founding the Max Planck Research Group for Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems in 2018.
His research group was an integral part, in fact one of the inaugural research groups of the Cyber Valley ecosystem, the largest AI and Robotics community in Europe.
Ardian was an independent Max Planck Research Group Leader [~Associate Professor] at the MPI for Intelligent Systems for five years.
Prof. Dr. Jusufi is an Empa group leader and an Associate of the University of Zurich INI and PIMUZ.
He is also a Hon. Associate Professor of Macquarie University Sydney.
Ardian serves as Editor of Institute of Publishing Journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics
Awards & Honors (Selected)
OutstandingTeaching Award for G.S.Instructors – U.C.Berkeley.
William V. Power Award – U.C.Berkeley.
Queens’ College Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cambridge University.
Darwin College Postdoctoral Research Affiliate, Cambridge University.
Best Poster Presentation – 8thInternational Symposium Adaptive Motion in Animals and Machines, Japan.
Best Presentation Competition,Runner-up, Soc. Int. Comp. B. Annual main conference.
Invited Speaker ICRA 2022
Invited Symposium Speaker SICB 2021
Invited Speaker RSS 2019
Select Publications:
Google Scholar page:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=VpxeM1wAAAAJ&view_op=list_works
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02378-6#Fig5
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aisy.202270050
Jusufi A, Goldman D, Revzen S, Full R. PNAS Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA 105 (11): 4215-4219. Active Tails enhance Arboreal Acrobatics in Geckos. 2008. [Cover]
Jusufi A*, Kawano D, Libby T, Full R. IOP Bioinsp. Biomim. 5 (4): 045001. Righting and Turning in Mid- Air using Appendage Inertia: Reptile Tails, Analytical models and Bio-Inspired Robots. 2010 [Cover]
Jusufi A*, Zeng Y, Full R, Dudley R. Integ. Comp. Biol. 51 (6): 934-437. Aerial Righting Reflexes in Flightless Animals. 2011
Libby T, Moore T, Chang E, Li D, Cohen D, Jusufi A, Full R. Nature 481: 181– 184. Tail-Assisted Pitch Control in Lizards, Robots, and Dinosaurs. 2012. [Cover]
Mongeau J, McRae B, Jusufi A, Birkmeyer, Hoover, Fearing, Full R. PLoS One 7 (6): e38003. Rapid Inversion: Running Animals and Robots Swing like a Pendulum under Ledges. 2012.
Jusufi A*, Vogt D, Wood R, Lauder G. Soft Robotics 4 (3): 202-210. Undulatory Swimming Performance and Body Stiffness Modulation in a Soft Robotic Fish-like Physical Model. 2017.
Nirody J, Jinn J, Libby T, Lee T, Jusufi A, Hu D, Full R. Current Biology. 28 (24), 4046-4051 e2. Geckos Race across Water’s Surface using Multiple Mechanisms 2018.
Wolf R, Jusufi A, Vogt D, Lauder G, IOP Bionspir. Biomim. 15 (4), 046008. Fish-like aquatic Propulsion studied using a Pneumatically-actuated Soft-Robotic Model. 2020.
Souri H, Banerjee H, Jusufi A, Radacsi N, Stokes A, Park I, Sitti M, Amjadi M. Advanced Int. Sys. 2 (8) 2000039.Wearable and Stretchable Strain Sensors: Materials, Sensing Mechanisms, and Applications. 2020. doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202000039
Siddall R, Byrnes G, Full R, Jusufi A*. Nature Communications bio 4, 1020. Tails stabilize Landing of gliding Geckos crashing head-first into Tree Trunks. 2021.
nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02378-6
Banerjee H, Kalairaj MS, Ren H, Jusufi A*. Advanced Engineering Materials. Strong, Ultrastretchable Hydrogel-Based Multilayered Soft Actuator Composites Enhancing Biologically Inspired Pumping Systems. [Cover inside] onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adem.202170038
Lin Y, Siddall R, Schwab F, Fukushima T, Banerjee H, Baek Y, Vogt D, Park YL, Jusufi A*. Advanced Int. Sys. 2000244. Modeling and Control of a Soft Robotic Fish with Integrated Soft Sensing. 2021. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aisy.202000244
Siddall R, Fukushima T, Bardhi D, Perteshoni B, Morina A, Hasimja E, Dujaka Y, Haziri G, Martin L, Banerjee H, Jusufi A*. Advanced Robotics 35 (7). Compliance, Mass Distribution and Contact Forces in Cursorial and Scansorial Locomotion with Biorobotic Physical Models. 2021. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01691864.2021.1887760
Fukushima T, Siddall R, Schwab F, Toussaint S, Byrnes G, Nyakatura J, Jusufi A*. Integ. Comp. Biol. 61 (2), 589–602. Inertial Tail Effects during Righting of Squirrels in unexpected Falls: From Behavior to Robotics. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab023
Siddall R, Ibanez V, Byrnes G, Full R, Jusufi A*. Integ. Comp. Biol 61 (2), 478–490. Mechanisms for Mid-Air Reorientation using Tail Rotation in Gliding Geckos. 2021. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab132
Schwab F, Lunsford E, Wiesemueller F, Kovac M, Abuyes O, Liao J, Park Y-L, Jusufi A*. Int. Comp. Biol. Body Caudal Undulation Measured by Soft Sensors and Emulated by Soft Artificial Muscles. 2021. academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icb/icab182/6355439
Schwab F, Mucignat C, Wiesemueller F, Park Y-L, Lunati I, Kovac M, Jusufi A*. Frontiers in Robotics and AI. Undulatory Swimming Performance Explored With a Biorobotic Fish and Measured by Soft Sensors and Particle Image Velocimetry. 2021 frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.791722/full
Chellapurath, M., Khandelwal, P., Rottier, T., Schwab, F. and Jusufi, A*. Advanced Intelligent Systems. [Cover]. Morphologically Adaptive Crash Landing on a Wall: Soft‐Bodied Models of Gliding Geckos with Varying Material Stiffnesses. 2022. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aisy.202200120
Ortega-Jimenez, V.M., Jusufi, A., Brown, C.E., Zeng, Y., Kumar, S., Siddall, R., Kim, B., Challita, E.J., Pavlik, Z., Priess, M. and Umhofer, T., Koh J-S, Socha JJ, Dudley R. Air-to-land transitions: from wingless animals and plant seeds to shuttlecocks and bio-inspired robots. 2023 Bioinspir. Biomim. 18 051001 doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/acdb1c
Schwab F, Sprumont H, Allione F, Mucignat C, Ijspeert A., and Jusufi A. Asymmetric fin shape changes swimming dynamics soft robophysical models. Institute of Physics Publishing IOP Bioinspir. Biomim. 03/24).iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/ad3f5e
Sprumont H, Schwab F, Mucignat CPark Y-L, Lunati I, Verrelli C., Jusufi A*. Learning Control for Body Caudal Undulation with Soft Sensory Feedback. Frontiers in Robotics and AI. Physical Sensors 02/24.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsens.2024.1367992/full
Wang B, Weng Z, Wang H, Weng S, Wang Z, Dai Z., Jusufi A. Wall-climbing performance of gecko-inspired robot with soft feet and digits enhanced by gravity compensation. IOP Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 056001 2024 DOI 10.1088/1748-3190/ad5899
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.791722/full
https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202100121
https://academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icb/icab132/6304832
https://academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icb/icab182/6355439?login=true
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aisy.202000244
https://academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icb/icab023/6261076?searchresult=1
https://academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/icb/icab108/6288457?redirectedFrom=fulltext
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01691864.2021.1887760