Shane Farritor is an American mechanical engineer and

roboticist Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

who is the David B. and Nancy K. Lederer Professor of Engineering at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. His research focuses on surgical robotics, railroad safety, and robotic systems, and he is a co-founder of Virtual Incision Corporation and MRail Inc.

Early life and education

Farritor is from

Ravenna, Nebraska Ravenna is a city in Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Kearney, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,441 at the 2020 census. History Ravenna was founded in 1886 when the Burlington Railroad w ...

, one of seven children. He earned a B.S. from the

(UNL) in 1992. Farritor attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), where he received a M.S. in 1994 and a Ph.D. in 1998.

Career

Farritor worked at the Field and Space Robotics Laboratory at MIT and the Unmanned Vehicle Lab at

Draper Laboratory Draper Laboratory is an American non-profit research and development organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts; its official name is The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. The laboratory specializes in the design, development, an ...

. He also conducted research at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

, and

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

. In 1998, Farritor joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) faculty as a professor in the Department of Mechanical and

Materials Engineering Materials science is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origi ...

. His research has included projects such as robotic

highway safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...

markers, miniature surgical robots, real-time measurement of track stiffness, and planetary cliff descent using cooperative robots. In 2002, he began developing robotic

traffic cones Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and ...

and barrels that could be controlled remotely or programmed to move autonomously. This research, funded by a

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

grant, was conducted in collaboration with graduate students and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

professor Steve Goddard. Farritor has contributed to surgical robotics research, co-founding Virtual Incision Corporation, which develops miniaturized robotic devices for general

abdominal surgery The term abdominal surgery broadly covers surgical procedures that involve opening the abdomen (laparotomy). Surgery of each abdominal organ is dealt with separately in connection with the description of that organ (see stomach, kidney, liver, e ...

. In early 2016, Virtual Incision relocated to

Nebraska Innovation Campus The Nebraska Innovation Campus is a public/private research campus developed by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It is located in Lincoln, Nebraska on the site of the old Nebraska State Fair grounds. The campus was announced in 2007, with ...

. His robotics work also extends to railroad safety, where he led a team that developed a sensor system to measure track integrity and identify potential

derailment In rail transport, a derailment is a type of train wreck that occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway sys ...

risks. This technology was commercialized through MRail Inc., which tests railroad tracks across North America. In 2016, Farritor was named a Fellow of the

National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 201 ...

. This research, funded by a

grant, was conducted in collaboration with graduate students and

professor Steve Goddard. In 2020, he obtained a federal

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

(PPP) Loan worth $31,800 to maintain his work force during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2024, his research on surgical robots has included tests conducted in space.

Personal life

Farritor has four home-schooled children, including DOGE software engineer Luke Farritor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farritor, Shane Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors 21st-century American engineers American mechanical engineers American roboticists People from Buffalo County, Nebraska Engineers from Nebraska