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John D. Watkins, PhD

Head of Materials
ESTAT Actuation
Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Dr. John D. Watkins is the Head of Materials at ESTAT Actuation, a start-up, based in Pittsburgh PA, revolutionizing lightweight, low-power clutches for use in robotics. Dr. Watkins has 11 years of professional experience in chemistry and materials science in academic, government, and industrial settings.

Dr. Watkins obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bath in the UK in 2012 before completing a post-doctoral program at Princeton in 2013 in carbon dioxide utilization. It was after working at the US Department of Energy in Pittsburgh, researching carbon capture processes, that Dr. Watkins developed a passion for entrepreneurship and the commercialization of new technologies. In 2016 Dr. Watkins was named an Innovation Fellow by the Swartz Center for Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University while co-founding a start-up in corrosion protective coatings. During this time Dr. Watkins became an AESF certified electroplater finisher and was named a 40-under-40 awardee by Products Finishing magazine in 2021 for his work in anti-corrosion coatings.

Today Dr. Watkins is the Head of Materials at ESTAT Actuation and leading the development of new flexible conductive and dielectric coatings and materials that can help take this novel technology to the next level of performance and development. Through product-driven materials research ESTAT is developing efficient, low-cost materials to further improve the operational efficiency, cost, and performance of electrostatic clutches. As product development continues Dr. Watkins is scaling-up application of these materials to meet growing demand, through strategic partnerships and innovative research.

Disclosure information not submitted.

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