Prof Hugh Herr

Professor Hugh Herr is an internationally renowned engineer and biophysicist whose work is redefining human capability through technology. Widely recognised for designing advanced systems that overcome disability by emulating — and enhancing — the function of natural limbs, he was named by TIME magazine in 2011 as the “Leader of the Bionic Age” for his pioneering contributions to the field of biomechatronics, which integrates human physiology with electromechanical systems.

Professor Herr is a Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, where he heads the Biomechatronics Group, and is Co-Director of the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics. His research focuses on the neural–digital interface between humans and machines, advancing technologies that restore mobility, eliminate disability and expand physical and cognitive performance.

A double amputee following a climbing accident more than 30 years ago, Professor Herr has transformed personal adversity into world-changing innovation. He is responsible for groundbreaking advances in bionic limbs, prosthetics and exoskeletons that have delivered unprecedented mobility and independence to people with physical disabilities.

Professor Herr is the author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and patents, spanning biomechanics, biological motion control, human rehabilitation and augmentation technologies. In 2014, his team published research in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation demonstrating the world’s first autonomous exoskeleton to reduce the metabolic cost of human walking — a scientific challenge that had remained unsolved for over a century.

His Biomechatronics Group has developed gait-adaptive knee prostheses for transfemoral amputees and variable-impedance ankle–foot orthoses for patients with drop foot caused by stroke, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Professor Herr also designed his own bionic limbs, including the BiOM Ankle System, the world’s first bionic lower leg. As published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 2012, the BiOM was clinically proven to be the first prosthetic leg to achieve biomechanical and physiological normalisation, enabling amputees to walk with natural speed and energy efficiency comparable to biological limbs.

His achievements have been recognised with numerous international honours, including the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment, the Prince Salman Award for Disability Research, the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, Innovator of the Year, Inventor of the Year, and the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.

Professor Herr is also a compelling and deeply inspiring keynote speaker. His TED Talk concluded with a standing ovation and has been viewed nearly seven million times. His story has been featured in a National Geographic documentary, Ascent: The Story of Hugh Herr, and across major global media including CNN, The Economist, Nature and Discover.

Professor Herr believes society stands at the threshold of a new era in which machines become intimate extensions of the human body. He envisions a future where disability is largely eliminated through technological sophistication, blurring the distinction between “able-bodied” and “disabled”, and unlocking new possibilities that will ultimately benefit all humanity.