Dr. Jianshu Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he is establishing the Grasping and Manipulation Laboratory (G&M Lab) in 2026. Prior to joining NUS, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Mechanical Systems Control Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He also served as a Research Assistant Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), following a postdoctoral appointment in the same department. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Hong Kong.
His research focuses on robotics and mechatronics, with an emphasis on robotic grasping and manipulation, embodied intelligence, and multi-modal sensing, data acquisition, and interaction. His work aims to develop robust, high-performance robotic systems through hardware–software co-design for real-world applications. He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications with more than 1,900 citations (h-index: 22), including over 10 first-author papers in leading journals such as IEEE Transactions on Robotics, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, and Soft Robotics. He holds multiple U.S. patents, including two granted patents and several ongoing filings.
He is a recipient of the ASME DSCD Rising Star Award. His work has been recognized with multiple Best Conference Paper Awards and Finalist honors, as well as the Gold Medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions. He has also received the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Outstanding Reviewer recognition. Dr. Zhou actively contributes to the robotics community through professional service roles, including Session Chair, Associate Editor, and organizing committee member at major conferences such as IEEE ICRA, IEEE RO-MAN, IEEE ICCA, and IEEE RCAR. He has secured competitive research funding, including support from the Hong Kong General Research Fund (GRF) as Principal Investigator.
Personal website: https://sites.google.com/view/dr-jianshu-zhou-nus/bio
Research Interest
- Robotics and Mechatronics
- Robotic Grasping and Manipulation
- Embodied Intelligence and Physical AI
- Multi-modal Sensing, Data Acquisition, and Interaction
Publication
10 Selected Publications
(* denotes corresponding author of Jianshu Zhou)
[1] Zhou J, Chen W, Huang J, Liang B, Liu Y, Tomizuka M. Programmable Locking Cells (PLC) for Modular Robots With High Stiffness Tunability and Morphological Adaptability. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2025 Oct 28;41:6460-77.
[2] Zhou J, Huang J, Dou Q, Abbeel P, Liu Y. A dexterous and compliant (DexCo) hand based on soft hydraulic actuation for human-inspired fine in-hand manipulation. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2024 Nov 28;41:666-86.
[3] Zhou J, Liang B, Huang J, Zhang H, Zhang I, Wang Y, Abbeel P, Tomizuka M. Singularity-Avoidant Motion Mappings for Pose-Tracking Teleoperation with Operational Jacobian Analysis. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2026.
[4] Zhou J, Huang J, Liang B, Zhang X, Ma X, Tomizuka M. Prismatic-Bending Transformable (PBT) Joint for a Modular, Foldable Manipulator With Enhanced Reachability and Dexterity. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2025 May 29;30(4):2936-2955.
[5] Zhou J, Huang J, Ma X, Lee A, Kosuge K, Liu YH. Design, modeling, and control of soft syringes enabling two pumping modes for pneumatic robot applications. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2024 Jan 9;29(2):889-901.
[6] Zhou J, Chen W, Cao H, He Q, Liu Y. Antagonistic pump with multiple pumping modes for on-demand soft robot actuation and control. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2023 Dec 27;29(5):3252-64.
[7] Zhou J, Cao H, Chen W, Cheng SS, Liu YH. Bioinspired soft wrist based on multicable jamming with hybrid motion and stiffness control for dexterous manipulation. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2022 Dec 2;28(3):1256-67.
[8] Zhou J, Shu J, Pan T, Zhu P, An J, Zhang H, Huang J, Kaur U, Ma X, Tomizuka M. Everything-Grasping Gripper: A Universal Gripper with Synergistic Suction–Grasping Capabilities for Cross-Scale and Cross-State Manipulation. Soft Robotics. 2025 Dec 3:21695172251400144.
[9] Zhou J, Chen Y, Hu Y, Wang Z, Li Y, Gu G, Liu Y. Adaptive variable stiffness particle phalange for robust and durable robotic grasping. Soft robotics. 2020 Dec 1;7(6):743-57.
[10] Huang, J., Chen, K., Zhou, J*., Lin, X., Abbeel, P., Dou, Q., Liu, Y. Dih-tele: Dexterous in-hand teleoperation framework for learning multiobjects manipulation with tactile sensing. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. 2025 Feb 21;30(5):3840-3851.