Nick Cheney

About

Nick Cheney is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of evolutionary computation, soft robotics, and artificial intelligence, whose work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of how bodies and brains can be co-designed through automated processes. Best known for his landmark "Unshackling Evolution" papers (2013–2014, accumulating over 350 citations combined), Cheney identified and began dismantling a critical "complexity ceiling" that had stalled progress in computational evolution since Karl Sims' foundational 1994 work. His research demonstrated that evolutionary algorithms, when properly structured, can produce genuinely complex and natural-looking morphologies and behaviors in virtual organisms. A central theme of Cheney's work is the simultaneous co-optimization of robot morphology and control — evolving body plans and nervous systems together rather than treating them as separate engineering problems. His 2018 paper on scalable co-optimization (99 citations) represents a significant methodological breakthrough in this direction. His extensive contributions to soft robotics, including work on morphological computation and developmental processes, have helped establish simulation-driven evolution as a credible framework for studying adaptive intelligence. With over 650 total citations, Cheney's research continues to shape how scientists approach embodied intelligence in both biological and artificial systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Unshackling evolution

   214 citations · 2013
2. 2
   Unshackling evolution

   142 citations · 2014
3. 3
   Scalable co-optimization of morphology and control in embodied machines

   99 citations · 2018
4. 4
   Evolving Soft Robots in Tight Spaces

   88 citations · 2015
5. 5
   Evolutionary Developmental Soft Robotics As a Framework to Study Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior in Animals and Plants

   33 citations · 2017
6. 6
   Interoceptive robustness through environment-mediated morphological development

   19 citations · 2018
7. 7
   Material properties affect evolutions ability to exploit morphological computation in growing soft-bodied creatures

   19 citations · 2016
8. 8
   Material properties affect evolutions ability to exploit morphological computation in growing soft-bodied creatures

   17 citations · 2016
9. 9
   Simulating the evolution of soft and rigid-body robots

   15 citations · 2017
10. 10
    Modular Controllers Facilitate the Co-Optimization of Morphology and Control in Soft Robots

    9 citations · 2023

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links