Dr. Rob Rohling has been reappointed as the director of the Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Systems (ICICS) for another five-year term. Dr. Rohling is cross-appointed as a Professor in UBC’s Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments, where he pursues research on biomedical engineering, medical imaging, medical information systems, and robotics and its application to surgery. He has been the Director of ICICS since 2017.
ICICS is an interdisciplinary research center that brings together different areas of expertise to foster technological advancement. With members from across 10 faculties and schools, it is home to several research clusters, including AI in Embedded Platforms, Biomedical Imaging and AI (BMIAI), Bionics Network, Blockchain@UBC, Centre for AI Decision-making and Action (CAIDA), Designing for People, Marine Systems Initiative (MSI), Quantum Computing, and STITCH. ICICS is also home to several Mechanical Engineering research labs, such as Sensing in Biomedical Processes Lab (SimPL), the Modeling and Simulation Research Group, the Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Lab, the Micro & Nano Mechanics Lab, and the Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CARIS) Laboratory. UBC’s HATCH startup accelerator is located in ICICS, where it provides office space, a maker space, mentorship and other tools to support UBC student or alumni tech entrepreneurs in developing and prototyping their products. ICICS is overseen by both the Faculties of Applied Science and Science, allowing it to bring together innovation across campus.
Dr. Rohling has overseen many accomplishments in his previous five years as Director, including building the HATCH program, which started in 2016 as the initiative of Applied Science Dean James Olson, as well as the UBC-Rogers partnership, which began during the challenges of the pandemic and has been recently extended to 2025. Professor Rohling is joined in the ICICS leadership team by fellow Mechanical Engineering Professor Antony Hodgson and Computer Science Professor Karon MacLean, who are the institute’s Associate Directors.
See the ICICS announcement for more details on Dr. Rohling’s reappointment and achievements at ICICS.