
Assistant Professor of The Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Siobhan Oca's research focusses on medical robotics and robotics education. Specifically, she is interested in developing safe and effective autonomous medical procedures. Her doctoral research focussed on development of autonomous ultrasound scanning with robotic arm, implemented in a human study, which also assessed trust and safety. Since starting as faculty, she studies the methods used in teaching robotics to understand their efficacy in student learning and perception of robotics as a future career field.
She leads the Masters programs in Robotics for MEMS and is passionate about robotics curricula development that prepares students for their future in robotics and impacts on society, including through her Case Studies of Ethics in Robotics and Autonomy course.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Assistant Professor of The Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Director of Masters Studies in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Assistant Director for Robotics and Autonomy in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Contact Information
- Email Address: siobhan.rigby@duke.edu
Education
- B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016
- M.S. University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, 2017
- Ph.D. Duke University, 2022
Research Interests
Robotics Education, Medical Robotics, Human Robot Interaction, Engineering Education
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Mara H. Wasburn Early Engineering Educator Award. American Society of Engineering Educators: Women in Engineering Division. 2024
Courses Taught
- ME 758S: Curricular Practical Training
- ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
- ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
- ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 493: Engineering Undergraduate Fellows Projects
- ME 492: Special Projects in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 491: Special Projects in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 490: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 442: Introduction to Robotics and Automation
- EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
- ECE 392: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
- ECE 383: Introduction to Robotics and Automation
- BME 590: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
In the News
- Not Your Parents’ Robots: Preparing Future Tech Leaders (Jan 30, 2025 | Pratt S…
- Pratt Researchers Imagine Robots of Tomorrow, From the Surgical Table to Outer …
- ‘Character Forward’ Aims to Build Better Engineers (Oct 29, 2024 | Kenan Instit…
- It All Connects to Climate (May 23, 2023 | Duke Today)
- Engineering an Engaging Curriculum in Robotics (Apr 25, 2023 | Pratt School of …
- Siobhan Rigby Oca: Designing Robotics Education at Duke (Aug 19, 2022 | Pratt S…
- Undergraduate Course in Robotics Gets Reboot with Help of Engineering Doctoral …
- Bass Instructional Fellowships Broaden Teaching, Career Opportunities (Nov 10, …
- NASA Climbs Aboard with Support for Robot Project (Jun 26, 2020 | Pratt School …
Representative Publications
- Oca, S. R., and B. Hament. “Implementing and Using ROS in Undergraduate Robotics Curricula.” In ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2024.
- Oca, S. R., J. L. Velasco, K. Lindstrom, L. J. Bridgeman, and D. M. Buckland. “Trust, Safety and Efficacy of Autonomous Robotic Ultrasound Vascular Imaging Collection on Human Subjects.” In 2024 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (ROMAN), 1483–90. IEEE, 2024.
- Oca, S., and G. M. Lipp. “Board 147: Work-in-Progress: The Effect of Summarizing a Research Article on Students' Area of Robotics Interest.” In ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2023.
- Prakash, Ravi, Kent K. Yamamoto, Siobhan R. Oca, Weston Ross, and Patrick J. Codd. “Brain-Mimicking Phantom for Photoablation and Visualization.” Int Symp Med Robot 2023 (April 2023). https://doi.org/10.1109/ismr57123.2023.10130243.
- Rigby Oca, S., A. Strong, J. Havas, D. M. Buckland, and L. J. Bridgeman. “Development and Testing of a Durable and Novel Breast Phantom for Robotic Autonomous Ultrasound Systems.” Journal of Medical Robotics Research 7, no. 4 (December 1, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1142/S2424905X22410100.