Professor Bernard (“Bernie”) Roth – His journey from kinematics to design thinking

Abstract

Dr. Bernard Roth (see Fig. 1) is the Rodney H. Adams Professor of Engineering at Stanford University and the co-founder and current Academic Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school). His long and distinguished academic career at Stanford consists of significant and pioneering accomplishments in teaching, research, and consulting on various aspects of mechanical engineering, with a special emphasis on mechanism design. Bernie has established a worldwide reputation in the kinematic synthesis and analysis of mechanisms and is a pioneer in the field of computer controlled robot manipulators. Bernie has investigated the mathematical theory of rigid body motions and the application of these motions to the kinematic synthesis of mechanisms. He has placed a special emphasis on geometric kinematics over the more traditional time-based formulations which have allowed him to make important contributions to Burmester theory, curvature theory, and screw theory. His text book, Theoretical Kinematics, co-authored with Oene Bottema, is regarded by many kinematicians as the most elegant and rigorous treatment of this applied science. Also, his popular book The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life describes some of the innovative techniques that he employs in the classes, workshops, and short courses that he has offered on creativity and design thinking.