Postdoctoral Researcher · UC San Diego

Dongting Li 李东庭

PostDoc, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC San Diego
Co-advised by Prof. Nick Gravish & Prof. Michael T. Tolley
PhD, Systems Engineering, Arizona State University · Prof. Dan M. Aukes

Portrait of Dongting Li
San Diego, CA

Focus areas

Origami-inspired design Laminate manufacturing Granular-media locomotion Soft & burrowing robots Lockable structures Experimental robotics Liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) & smart materials Self-oscillation systems

01  News & announcements

Recent activity

Upcoming travel & conferences

2026
  • May 17

    Our workshop “When Muscles Think: The Embodied Intelligence of Biological and Robotic Actuation” was accepted at IROS 2026, Pittsburgh, USA. More details coming soon — we plan additional speaker spots, poster / abstract presentations, demos, and more. Workshop site →

  • Jan

    Happy New Year.

2025
  • Dec

    On the market for a faculty position in Mechanical Engineering / Robotics.

  • Jun

    A paper on a multi-functional digging robot was accepted at IROS 2025, Hangzhou, China.

  • Jan

    Honored to be elected co-chair of the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS): Complex Active and Adaptive Material Systems, 2027.

  • Jan

    A paper on a self-digging / unburrowing robot was accepted at RoboSoft 2025.

2024
  • Jul 10

    Received the UCSD MAE Stanford S. “Sol” Penner Post-Doctoral Research Travel Award — traveling to ASME SMASIS 2024 in Atlanta.

  • Apr 17

    Proud to have volunteered at RoboSoft 2024. Thank you to everyone who attended!

  • Mar 3

    Contributed to the 2024 edition of “A Roadmap for U.S. Robotics.”

  • Feb 2

    Shared work on origami-inspired devices at the UCSD RoboGrad workshop, “Design and Fabrication of Multi-Layer Laminate Origami-Inspired Robots.”

2023
  • Oct 13

    The Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab (BRDL) took part in Walter Munk Day.

  • Aug 23

    Started my postdoc at UC San Diego.

  • Mar 21

    Defended my PhD.