Introduction to Haptics

Dr. Allison Okamura is the Richard W. Weiland Professor of Engineering at Stanford University, holding appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and (by courtesy) Computer Science. As director of the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Laboratory, she leads groundbreaking research in haptic technology and its applications in medical robotics. After earning her BS from UC Berkeley and PhD from Stanford, both in Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Okamura has established herself as a preeminent authority in haptics, teleoperation, and medical robotics. Her work spans diverse areas including robot-assisted surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation robotics, and space teleoperation. At Stanford, she teaches courses on haptics and robotic manipulation, including "Machine Learning with Graphs" and "Mining Massive Data Sets". Dr. Okamura's contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including IEEE Fellow status, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Technical Achievement Award, and the Duca Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Beyond her academic pursuits, she is passionate about outreach, particularly to groups underrepresented in engineering. Dr. Okamura balances her professional life with family time, running, and playing ice hockey.