Rate My Professor Doan Tat Thang Vo

Dr. T. Thang Vo-Doan is a Lecturer in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland and an affiliate of Future Autonomous Systems and Technologies. He directs the UQ Biorobotics Lab. His academic background includes a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, obtained in 2016. He also holds an M.Eng. degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam, in 2010, and a B.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the same university in 2008. Career appointments encompass a postdoctoral researcher position at the Institute of Biology I, University of Freiburg, Germany, from 2019 to 2023, and a Research Fellow role at Nanyang Technological University from 2016 to 2018.

Dr. Vo-Doan's research specializations are insect-machine hybrid robots, bio-inspired robotics, insect structures and functions, biomechanics, fast lock-on tracking, and brain imaging in untethered insects. He has produced key publications such as 'High-resolution outdoor videography of insects using Fast Lock-On tracking' (Science Robotics, 2024), 'Zoborg: on-demand climbing control for cyborg beetles' (Advanced Science, 2025), 'Terrestrial Cyborg Insects for Real-Life Applications' (Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2026), 'Bust Stimulation for Sustained Locomotion Control and Autonomous Navigation of Terrestrial Cyborg Beetles' (Cyborg and Bionic Systems, 2026), 'An Ultralightweight and Living Legged Robot' (Soft Robotics, 2018), 'Deciphering the role of a coleopteran steering muscle via free flight stimulation' (Current Biology, 2015), and 'Theoretical modelling and facile synthesis of a highly active boron-doped palladium catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction' (Angewandte Chemie, 2016). His awards include the Human Frontier Science Program Cross-disciplinary Fellowship (2019-2022). Current grants support projects like Infrared and Artificial intelligence technique to enhance surveillance of Ross River virus hotspots (NHMRC IDEAS Grants, 2025-2028) and Using Wastewater Analysis to understand the prevalence of drug misuse in correctional settings in Queensland (Queensland Corrective Services, 2024-2027). He has delivered keynote talks at the IEEE International Conference on Cyborg and Bionic Systems (2024), the Australian Soft Robotics Symposium (2024), and UQ STEM Spotlight (2024), and organized workshops including IROS 2024 on Bio-Inspired, Biomimetic, and Biohybrid Systems.