Dr. Majid Taghavi

Biography

Majid Taghavi joined Imperial College London in August 2021 to establish an interdisciplinary research group focused on Soft Robotic Transducers within the Department of Bioengineering. His goal is to pioneer the generation of artificial muscles with extended functionalities, ultimately creating monolithic soft robots for health applications. His approach involves advancing the materials and structure functionality of soft actuators, incorporating features such as variable stiffness, graded stiffness, self-sensing, self-powered capabilities, and adaptability for shape-shifting to establish novel core technologies for future wearable and implantable surgical robotics. Prior to his current position, Majid served as a postdoctoral researcher in the SoftLab at the University of Bristol, where he introduced multiple artificial muscle technologies. Notably, he developed a new class of electric actuators with gigantic force amplification and the highest contraction actuation technologies, achieving over 98% power density equivalent to human muscle. Majid earned his PhD in BioRobotics from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna with the highest honors, receiving a scholarship from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). During his doctoral studies, he delivered multiple electromechanical bioelectrochemical energy harvesting and self-powered sensing technologies at both nano and macro scales.

Research Interests