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About

Dr. Seungkuk Ahn is a pioneering figure in biohybrid robotics, merging tissue engineering with soft robotics to create living machines. His most celebrated contribution is the development of a tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray, inspired by the elegant swimming of batoid fish. This landmark work, published in *Science* in 2016 and garnering over 700 citations, demonstrated a biohybrid system that could swim and phototactically follow a light cue. By patterning dissociated rat cardiomyocytes on a flexible, gold-skeleton scaffold, Ahn’s team created an artificial animal that translated cellular contraction into directed, undulating motion. This breakthrough not only showcased the potential of integrating living muscle with synthetic materials but also provided a powerful platform for studying cardiac tissue function and design principles for soft actuators. Dr. Ahn’s research sits at the intersection of developmental biology, materials science, and robotics, offering profound insights into how biological design can inspire next-generation machines. His work has become a foundational reference for researchers exploring biohybrid systems, soft robotics, and tissue-engineered constructs for both fundamental science and potential medical applications.