PhD, P.Eng., FIEEE, FASME, FAAAS, FNAI, FAIMBE, FCSME, FEIC, FCAE, FRSC
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Engineering Systems
Director, Robotics Institute
Email: sun@mie.utoronto.ca
Tel: 416-946-0549
Office: MC419
Research Group: Advanced Micro and Nanosystems Laboratory (AMNL)
Website: sun.mie.utoronto.ca
Research Areas
Robotics
Mechanics & Design
Bio
Yu Sun is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, with joint appointments in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto (UofT). He is a Tier I Canada Research Chair, and the founding Director of the UofT Robotics Institute. His Advanced Micro and Nanosystems Laboratory specializes in developing innovative technologies and instruments for manipulating and characterizing cells, molecules, and nanomaterials. He was elected Fellow of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), NAI (US National Academy of Inventors), AIMBE (American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering), CAE (Canadian Academy of Engineering), and RSC (Royal Society of Canada) for his work on micro-nano devices and robotic systems. He received a 2023 University of Toronto President’s Impact Award for his outstanding contributions to robotics at micro-nano scales, whose far-reaching impacts include transformative infertility treatments for patients and materials characterization techniques for industry.
Sun obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2003 and did his postdoctoral research at ETH-Zürich. He joined the University of Toronto in 2004. In 2012-2013, he directed the University Nanofabrication Center as the faculty director. Sun has served and serves on the editorial boards of IEEE Trans. Robotics, IEEE Trans. Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Trans. Mechatronics, J. Micromechanics Microengineering, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, Scientific Reports, and Microsystems & Nanoengineering. Among the awards he received were the McLean Award in 2009; the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award in 2010; eight times University of Toronto Connaught Innovation Award; two times First Prize for technical achievement of ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine); an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship in 2013; the IEEE C.C. Gotlieb Computer Award in 2018; the CSME Mechatronics Medal in 2020; an NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation in 2021; and over a dozen best paper awards and finalists in journals and at international conferences.
