Hod Lipson

Hod Lipson is the James and Sally Scapa Professor of Innovation, Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor of Data Science at Columbia University in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. As a leading roboticist, he directs the Creative Machines Lab, where he and his students design and build robots that self-replicate, self-reflect, ask questions, and demonstrate creativity. His research investigates fundamental questions such as whether robots can design and manufacture other robots, whether machines can be curious and creative, and whether robots can achieve true self-awareness. Lipson has pioneered advancements in open-source 3D printing, electronics 3D printing, bio-printing, and food printing. He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1999, a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Brandeis University in Computer Science and at MIT in Mechanical Engineering. Before joining Columbia University in 2015, he served as a professor at Cornell University from 2001 to 2015. He also co-directs the Maker Space Facility and has co-founded companies including Nutonian Inc. in 2011 and 3DBio Inc. in 2014.

Lipson has co-authored over 300 publications, garnering more than 14,000 citations. Key works include 'Automatic Design and Manufacture of Artificial Lifeforms' in Nature (2000), 'Self-reproducing machines' in Nature (2005), 'Resilient Machines Through Continuous Self-Modeling' in Science (2006), 'Distilling Free-Form Natural Laws from Experimental Data' in Science (2009), 'Universal robotic gripper based on the jamming of granular material' in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2010), and books such as 'Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing' (2013) and 'Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead' (2016). His contributions have earned numerous accolades, including the US National Academy of Engineering Annual Gilbreth Lecturer in 2012, Forbes' recognition as one of the Top 7 Data Scientists in the world in 2011, Popular Science's listing of his lab among the 25 most awesome in the US in 2011, Discover Magazine's 25 most important discoveries of 2009, Esquire Magazine's Best & Brightest in 2007, Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award in 2007, and TIME Magazine's most important events of 2000. An award-winning teacher and communicator, Lipson frequently delivers keynotes at industry and academic events, and his TED Talk on self-aware machines ranks among the most viewed presentations on AI and robotics. His work has received widespread media coverage and challenges conventional paradigms in robotics.

Professional Email: hod.lipson@columbia.edu