May we awaken your curiosity?
We are currently preparing the program for the ACTUATOR Conference. But feel free to take a look at our keynote speakers and let yourself be inspired!
copyright: Michael Gareis, TU Berlin - Olena / stock.adobe.com
Keynotes 2026
ACTUATOR 2026 - Keynote Speaker
Dr. Rainer Gloess - Physik Instrumente (PI) SE & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Nanometer-precise actuators and sensors for the key technologies of our world”
“Nanometer-precise actuators and sensors for the key technologies of our world”
Prof. Martin Hoffmann - Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
"The Multiplicity of Electrostatic Microactuation"
"The Multiplicity of Electrostatic Microactuation"
Martin Hoffmann has been a full professor at the Ruhr University Bochum for Microsystems Technology since 2017.
After his work at the TU Dortmund, he joined MEMS companies and returned to academia in 2006 as a full professor for Micromechanical Systems at the TU Ilmenau.
Microactuators have always been a key area of interest in combination with sensors and optical waveguides from visible to THz. The application-specific MEMS are mainly based on thermal and electrostatic effects and demonstrators have been realized in an own cleanroom.
Prof. Liwei Lin - University of California/USA
"Piezoelectric and Piezoelectret Actuators and Microsystems"
"Piezoelectric and Piezoelectret Actuators and Microsystems"
Prof. Arianna Menciassi - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
"Actuation Challenges and Options in Medical Robotics"
"Actuation Challenges and Options in Medical Robotics"
Prof. Oliver Schmidt - Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
"Life from Technology – From Micro-Actuator Modules to Non-Biological Organisms"
"Life from Technology – From Micro-Actuator Modules to Non-Biological Organisms"
Professor Oliver G. Schmidt is the Scientific Director of the Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN) and holds the Chair of Material Systems for Nanoelectronics at the Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany.
He is an elected member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering and has received several international prizes and awards, among them the Leibniz-Prize of the German Research Foundation in 2018, and an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) in 2019.
He is a pioneer in microrobotics, its biomedical applications and its potential for creating artificial life. He achieved several Guinness World Records (e.g. smallest man-made jet engine and smallest microelectronic robot) and has made major scientific contributions to small scale energy storage devices, flexible electronics and integrated multi-functional microsystems. He has been an ISI highly cited researcher in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025 and has authored and co-authored > 900 papers with a citation index > 68.000 and an H-index of 134.
Prof. Shoji Takeuchi - University of Tokyo, Japan
“Living Muscle Actuators: A New Frontier in Biohybrid Robotics”
“Living Muscle Actuators: A New Frontier in Biohybrid Robotics”
Shoji Takeuchi is Professor in the Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
He has received numerous honors, including the JSPS Prize, TIME Best Inventions 2025, and the Springer Nature Test of Time Award 2025. His research focuses on cultivated meat, 3D tissue fabrication, bioMEMS, implantable devices, and biohybrid robotics.
