Members
Principal Investigator: Dr. Yayun Du
Dr. Yayun Du is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University, with an affiliation to the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE). Dr. Yayun Du got her Ph.D. in Robotics and System Control (Minor: Solid Mechanics) from University of California, Los Angeles. From 2022 to 2024, Dr. Du was a postdoctoral scholar at the Rogers Group at Northwestern University, where she led 5 projects, focused on developing multimodal and multiparametric wearable and implantable sensors with integrated edge AI for monitoring cardiopulmonary (e.g., aortic stenosis, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure), neurological (e.g., sleep studies, delirium, coma, and epilepsy), and vocal system health, as well as for disease diagnosis and drug delivery. Her work has led to the deployment of four types of sensors across seven hospitals, benefiting hundreds of users globally, from neonates to the elderly, in countries including China, Canada, Mexico, the U.S., and the U.K.
Currently, Dr. Du involves in commericializing the sensors she developed and serves as an Associate Editor for ICRA 2025. She has submitted several first-authored manuscripts to prestigious journals that are forthcoming. Dr. Du has also published in top robotics journals and conferences, including the IEEE-Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), and IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). Her work was a finalist for the Best Paper Award in Agri-Robotics and the Best Paper Award in Robot Mechanisms and Design at IROS 2021 (selected 4 out of 1261 for each category).
Selected Honors and Awards
- 2023 Humboldt Fellowship from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (25% - 30%)
- 2021 MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Rising Stars
- 2021 Finalists for Best Paper Award on Agri-Robotics, Best Paper Award on Robot Mechanisms and Design in IROS 2021 (4/1261 for each category)
Postdoc Scholars
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Concentration: Haptics, Sensing, and Robotics
- "Everything will get better. Just do it!"
Graduate Students
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Concentration: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- "The best way to predict the future is to create it."
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Concentration: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- "Standing on the small hill of what I have learned, Dr. Du revealed a new possibility, a path to innovative and meaningful research that can truly change the world. That is why I am here."
- Date Joined: January 2025
- Concentration: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Project/Team: Firmware and Application Design
- "My goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the whole engineering system and work on things that are meaningful to people—something that can actually contribute to scientific progress."
- Date Joined: May 2025
- Concentration: VISE Engineering (Biomedical Engineering, Surgery & Intervention)
- Project/Team: Signal Processing/Machine Learning, Sensor Development, Wearable Devices
- "Everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done." — Robert A. Heinlei
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Concentration: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Project/Team: Human Robot Interaction
- "My aim is to advance and build reliable medical robotics algorithms for precision medicine."
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Concentration: ViSE Engineering
- Project/Team: Sensor Development
- "Driven by a deep appreciation for the impact of medical intervention, my goal is to contribute meaningful research at the intersection of engineering and surgery to improve patient outcomes and advance the future of care."
Undergraduate Students
- Date Joined: February 2025
- Year: 2nd Year
- Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Project/Team: Circuit Design
- "I joined the lab to turn hands-on experience into real-world impact."
- Date Joined: February 2025
- Year: 2nd Year
- Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering (Concentrations in Microelectronics and Embedded Computing & Cyber-Physical Systems)
- Project/Team: Circuit Design
- "I joined the lab because I am very interested in creating and designing technological devices to help others!"
- Date Joined: February 2025
- Year: 2nd Year
- Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Project/Team: Circuit Design
- "I joined Du Group to see real world applications of work that I have provided contributions to. It is especially redeeming because I know that we are helping real people."
- Date Joined: January 2025
- Year: 1st Year
- Major: Computer Science and Economics
- Project/Team: Application Design (Backend)
- "I joined Dr. Du's lab because her research stood out to me as one that could really help people. I was really fascinated by her work on wearable sensors as it has the potential for so much good for society, and I wanted to be part of that innovation."
- Date Joined: March 2025
- Year: 1st Year
- Major: Computer Science
- Project/Team: Robotics
- "I joined the lab because I wanted to learn more about how robotics could be applied in the medical field."
- Date Joined: January 2025
- Year: 2nd Year
- Major: Computer Science
- Project/Team: Application Design (Frontend)
- "I joined the Du lab because its mission to develop bioengineering sensors aligns with my goal to merge software innovation with real-world biomedical challenges."
- Date Joined: January 2025
- Year: 2nd Year
- Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering (Concentrations in Embedded Computing & Cyber-Physical Systems and Image & Data)
- Project/Team: Firmware Design
- "I joined Dr. Du's lab because it provided a unqiue opportunity to gain experience in a field of engineering that I am passionate about with a unique and impactful application of that field."
- Date Joined: June 2025
- Year: 4th Year
- Concentration: Biomedical Engineering
- Project/Team: Signal Processing and Machine Learning
- "I joined Du Group to explore and contribute to the development of innovative biomedical and electrical technologies that improve healthcare and benefit those in need."
High School Students
- Date Joined: August 2025
- Project/Team: Robtics and Learning
- "I joined Dr. Du's lab because I wanted learn about various elements of robotics and its applications while being able to contribute to technology that will help people in need."
Alumni
- Siva Sai Chaitanya Guardi (Electrical Engineer, April-July 2025)