Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Gelson J. Pagan-Diaz is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of tissue engineering and soft robotics, whose work focuses on creating biohybrid machines powered by living cells. His most significant contribution is the development of neuromuscular actuation for biohybrid bots, as detailed in his highly cited 2019 paper (189 citations), which demonstrated the first integration of neuronal control with muscle-powered soft robots—a critical step toward autonomous, cell-driven machines. He has also advanced the field through the fabrication of stronger, larger, and faster walking biohybrid machines (110 citations), and by engineering compliant 3D frameworks with strain sensors for characterizing millimeter-scale muscle tissues (63 citations). Notably, his work on long-term cryopreservation and revival of engineered skeletal muscle (41 citations) addresses a key logistical barrier for off-the-shelf availability of these tissues. Pagan-Diaz’s research bridges regenerative medicine, organ-on-a-chip disease models, and soft robotics, with his 3D neural tissue mimics and multi-cellular engineered living systems pushing the boundaries of what is possible in “New Biology.” His work has been instrumental in demonstrating that engineered living tissues can serve as functional, controllable components in next-generation machines.