Kirby Ann Witte

Kirby Witte, Ph.D., is chief commercial officer for Estat Actuation. She enjoys problem solving and creating a shared vision for partnerships. From cutting-edge electrostatic brakes and clutches to lower-limb exoskeletons to surgical robots, Witte has worked to ensure safe interaction between humans and powerful machinery. She says her experience putting people in robots and robots in people gives her a unique appreciation for compact, power-efficient robotic hardware. As former VP of engineering at Estat, she led an interdisciplinary team of engineers as they translated ground-breaking research into powerful robotic components. She is also a mechanical engineer, biomechanist and robot designer.