Dr. RyanSochol is a brilliant engineer and educator whose work bridges science, technology, and health. He leads the Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing (BAM) Laboratory at the University of Maryland, where he and his team use cutting-edge 3D printing on the micro and nano scale to create innovations that can improve human health and medical care. Imagine building things so small they can work inside the human body — that’s the kind of technology Dr. Sochol’s lab develops!

He currently serves as the Interim Director of the Maryland Robotics Center and teaches in the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Institute for Systems Research. He’s also part of the Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, where engineers and doctors team up to create life-changing medical technology.

Dr. Sochol earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from UC Berkeley and his B.S. from Northwestern University, and he even completed advanced research at Harvard Medical School and the University of Tokyo. Over his career, he’s received many awards for his research, innovation, and teaching — including being named an ASME Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering and receiving the NSF CAREER Award.

Through his work, Dr. Sochol inspires students to see how engineering, creativity, and compassion can come together to make a real difference in the world.