Dr. Rob Gorbet, PEng

Collaborator Dr. Rob Gorbet is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Knowledge Integration and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also a key member of Gorbet Design, a Toronto-based design firm and consultancy specializing in public interactive artwork and experiences. His interdisciplinary expertise includes mechatronics, advanced technology, and visual art.

Gorbet is an award-winning teacher, interested in the design of interactive artworks and the process of learning across disciplines. His current engineering research focuses on modelling and control of actuators made of shape memory alloys (SMA), and the specialized development of a new generation of sensing and actuation systems emphasizing tune and subtle motion connoting empathy.

Gorbet's collaborative interactive artworks have been exhibited across Europe and North America, including ISEA2006 in San Jose, the Matadero Madrid, the Ars Electronica Centre in Linz, and the Beaux Arts in Montreal. His works have won several awards, including a 2008 FEIDAD Design Merit award and the prestigious Primer Premio at the VIDA 11.0 competition in 2009. They have been featured in major print media including Wired Magazine, Domus, Leonardo, and on the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet.