Age : 40

Residence : Squirrel Hill

Family : Wife, Seyhan; daughters, Ada, 3, and Doga, 7 months

Occupation : Associate professor, mechanical engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Education : Sitti earned a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a master's degree in 1994 from Bogazici University in Istanbul. He earned a doctorate from the University of Tokyo in 1999.

Background : Before joining the CMU faculty, Sitti worked as a research scientist and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1999 to 2002. There, he started working with a biologist to study the gecko and figure out how the science of the lizard's sticky toes could be used to help robots and humans. In 2009, he formed nanoGriptech LLC, hoping to commercialize the gecko's adhesive ability, with financial help from the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Noteworthy : Sitti's most recent innovation is to use the gecko-inspired technology to print electronics on sticky surfaces. This way, circuit transistors can be woven into fabric and clothing. His research team published its findings in an October edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Quote : "It's taken me a long time to accumulate the knowledge and know-how to get to these levels. Right now, I believe we're at a stage to bring these fibers to market. That's our next big step that we're working on hard."

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