DR. RITU RAMAN
MECHANICAL & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER
IF/THEN Series
Dr. Ritu Raman is an engineer who studies whether we can build machines using biological materials.
Biological materials, like the cells that make up our bodies, can sense and adapt to their surroundings. You've seen this in action in your daily life! When you exercise, you get stronger. When you fall and scrape your knee, you heal. However, the machines we use in our daily lives, like computers or microwaves, don't do this - why not? It's because they aren't built out of biological materials, like we are!
Dr. Raman does experiments to figure out if machines that are part part-biological are better at solving problems than traditional machines. She once built a robot that used living skeletal muscle to move and walk around, just like we do in our bodies! Unlike traditional robots, these robots with skeletal muscle were able to become stronger through exercise and heal completely when damaged.
Dr. Raman’s future goal is to build biological robots that can integrate with our bodies and help us feel better when we get sick or hurt.
Dr. Raman grew up attending ten schools in three different continents. She shares: “Growing up in India, Kenya, and all over the United States taught me that it is important to meet many different kinds of people, and to adapt to changing environments.” She also wants you to know that she reads a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction, and her goal is to never stop learning new things.
Educational Pathway: Dr. Raman studied mechanical engineering in college and got a PhD in mechanical engineering doing biomedical research.
Name Pronunciation: Hear the correct pronunciation of Dr. Raman’s name in her IF/THEN Ambassador videos.
Further resources
(some links may be repeated from above)
Read: 3 Questions: Ritu Raman on the Women in Innovation and STEM Database at MIT.
Read: “Ritu Raman named L’Oréal Women in Science Fellow “ from MIT News.
LISTEN: “Predicting the Future of Robotics” From Science Friday. Dr. Raman is a featured guest.
Follow her on Twitter: @DrRituRaman
Follow her on Instagram: @ritu.raman