·  Curriculum Vitae

Dongting Li

Postdoctoral Researcher · Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC San Diego · dongtingli@ucsd.edu

Appointment
  • Postdoctoral Researcher Aug 2023 – Present

Education
  • PhD & MS, Systems Engineering 2018 – 2023
  • BS, Mechanical Engineering 2014 – 2018

Publications

Journal articles

  1. J1

    Li, D., Huang, S., Tang, Y., Marvi, H., Tao, J., & Aukes, D. M. Compliant fins for locomotion in granular media. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2021.

  2. J2

    Li, D., Quinones Yumbla, E., Olivas, A., Sugar, T., Ben Amor, H., Lee, H., Zhang, W., & Aukes, D. M. Origami-inspired wearable robot for trunk support. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2022.

  3. J3

    Doroudchi, A., Khodambashi, R., Sharifzadeh, M., Li, D., Berman, S., & Aukes, D. M. Tracking control of a miniature 2-DOF manipulator with hydrogel actuators. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2021.

  4. J4

    Huang, S., Tang, Y., Bagheri, H., Li, D., Ardente, A., Aukes, D. M., Marvi, H., & Tao, J. Effects of friction anisotropy on upward burrowing behavior of soft robots in granular materials. Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2020.

  5. J5

    Yumbla, E. Q., Li, D., Nibi, T. M., Aukes, D. M., & Zhang, W. A kinematically constrained Kalman filter for sensor fusion in a wearable origami robot. ASME Letters in Dynamic Systems and Control, 2023.

  6. J6

    Liu, D., Li, D., Tolley, M. T., & Gravish, N. Soft feeding mechanism for mobile everting robots. Soft Robotics — submitted, 2025.

  7. J7

    Li, D., Tolley, M. T., & Gravish, N. Pneumatic rhythmic oscillation networks from soft robotic leaky integrate-and-fire modules. — in preparation, 2025.

Conference papers

  1. C1

    Li, D., Tolley, M. T., & Gravish, N. Autonomous burrowing and retrieval of soft robotic anchors in granular media. Proc. 8th IEEE-RAS Int. Conf. on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), 2025.

  2. C2

    Li, D., Tolley, M. T., & Gravish, N. Multi-functional granular propulsion: bio-inspired orientation control and local fluidization for crawl-to-dig transitions. Proc. IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2025.


Funding & Management
  • Multimodal Ocean Soft Robot (MOSoRo) Platform Aug 2023 – Dec 2024
    Managed full execution of a $200,000 instrumentation budget — procurement, assembly, and integration of custom soft-robotics equipment; developed experimental workflows and training protocols.
  • Predictive Rheology of Vibrated Granular Media In preparation
  • Self-Sufficient Swimming & Digging Worm-Inspired Robot Aug 2023 – Present
    Lead postdoctoral researcher overseeing research deliverables, authoring annual reports, and supervising MS and undergraduate researchers.

Teaching
  • Student Team Mentor, UC San Diego MAE 249: Soft Robotics 2025
  • Guest Speaker, UC San Diego MAE 249: Soft Robotics 2023 – 2025
  • Teaching Assistant, Foldable Robotics Summer Camp, Arizona State University 2023
  • Guest Lecturer, ASU EGR 598: Experimentation & Deployment of Robotic Systems 2023
  • Student Team Judge, ASU EGR 314: Embedded System Design Project 2023

Peer Review
  • Reviewer — Soft Robotics 2022 – 2023
  • Reviewer — IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics 2023 – 2025
  • Reviewer — IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 2024 – 2025
  • Reviewer — Frontiers in Robotics and AI 2024
  • Reviewer — Scientific Reports 2024
  • Reviewer — IEEE ICRA 2022, 2025
  • Reviewer — IEEE/RSJ IROS 2020 – 2021
  • Reviewer — IEEE-RAS RoboSoft 2019 – 2025

Awards & Service

Awards

  • UC San Diego–Stanford Penner Postdoctoral Research Travel Award 2024
  • IEEE/ASME AIM Student Travel Support 2023

Service to the community

  • Incoming Co-Chair, Gordon Research Seminar (GRS): Complex Active & Adaptive Material Systems 2027
  • Lead Volunteer, RoboSoft 2024, San Diego 2024