What do you get when you cross a passion for knitting, the intricacies of nature’s movements, and the love of engineering robots? In conversation with Ruby Marshall, a PhD student in the Soft Systems Group at the University of Edinburgh, we discover the diverse set of skills that knit together to become the cross section of biomimicry and soft-robotics. Think, taking the motion of a jet-propelled squid and using mechanical engineering to transform it into a functional robot using tightly woven textiles. While we discover that creating bionic mermaid tails is not yet the future of her work, Ruby shares the importance of soft robotics to other fields, and we hear about her experience as a female phD student within a largely male-dominated field.

Ruby’s Socials: @RubyMResearch

Check out the Molly Fergusson Initiative here: https://www.mollyfergusson.eng.ed.ac.uk/

Ruby's and Other Scientist's CreateWorks Audio Dramas: https://createworks.eng.ed.ac.uk/audio-dramas

Not Another Science Podcast is co-created by Helena Cornu (@helenacornu) and Tom Edwick (@edwicktom), brought to you by Edinburgh University Science Magazine (EUSci). The hosts are Alix Bailie (@alixbailie) and Hannah Muir. Our podcast manager is Lili Paradi. The logo was designed by Apple Chew (@_applechew), and the cover art was designed by Heather Jones (@heatherfrancs).

You can visit our website at www.eusci.org.uk to check out the latest issue of the magazine, a ton of other cool science content by our student journalists, and to see how to get involved. You can also follow EUSci on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All podcast episodes and transcripts can be found at www.eusci.org.uk/podcasts/.

Music by Kevin Macleod:

https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama;

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Music by Professor Colin Campbell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZhfAZ-gCEQ&ab_channel=ChemistryEdinburgh

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Originally posted on March 1st, reposted March 7th