Professor Adam A. Stokes FIES is Head of the Institute for Bioengineering and Personal Chair in Bioinspired Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. He directs the Soft Systems Group, an interdisciplinary laboratory working at the intersection of robotics, bioelectronics and bioinspired engineering. His research draws lessons from the natural world to develop new engineering systems, particularly in soft robotics, sensing and fluidic technologies. Adam was a founding co-lead of the National Robotarium and is Deputy Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics. Alongside academic leadership, he is an entrepreneur, founder and adviser working to translate research into practical health-tech, robotics and engineering ventures.