Robert D. Howe

Robert D. Howe is Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Engineering and Area Dean for Bioengineering in the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Dr. Howe founded the Harvard BioRobotics Laboratory in 1990, which investigates the roles of sensing and mechanical design in motor control, in both humans and robots. His research interests center on manipulation, the sense of touch, and human-machine interfaces. A major focus is the development of image-guided and robotic surgical applications. Dr. Howe earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Reed College, then worked as a design engineer in the electronics industry in Silicon Valley. He received a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1990, and then joined the faculty at Harvard. Among his honors are election as a Fellow of the IEEE and AIMBE, and best paper awards at mechanical engineering, robotics, and surgery conferences.