DrMichael Ruppert

DECRA24 Fellow, Australian Research Council

Senior Lecturer, School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Research Theme Lead, Microsystems and Mechatronics, Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration

Laboratory Lead, Micro and Nanomechatronic Systems Lab, UTS TechLab

Dr Ruppert is currently a ARC DECRA24 fellow and senior lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher and research associate at the University of Newcastle, Australia and a visiting researcher with the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Dallas, USA. He received the Dipl.-Ing. Degree in automation technology in production, with a specialization in systems theory and automatic control, from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 2013. In 2017, he received the PhD degree with Excellence Award in electrical engineering from The University of Newcastle, Australia.

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS

Dr Ruppert has made significant contributions to the design, instrumentation and control of active microcantilevers for multifrequency and ultra-high resolution atomic force microscopy, invented several high-speed and multifrequency demodulation techniques, and developed a novel dynamic tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method.He lead-authored the publication on the first silicon-on-insulator MEMS single-chip atomic force microscope (AFM) in the IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems . His culminated work demonstrates significant advancement in miniaturising an entire AFM down to the single-chip level, pathing the way for a portable, low-cost, high-throughput, high-resolution imaging system. To date, Dr Ruppert’s work has resulted in over 60 publications including 2 book chapters, 36 journal articles, and 17 fully-refereed conference proceedings.

PRIZES, HONORS & AWARDS

• 2022 Early Career Researcher Excellence Award, University of Newcastle, Australia
• 2021 NSW Fresh Scientist, Science in Public, Australia
• 2019 Best Conference Paper Award, International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS), Finland
• 2018 Outstanding Journal Paper Award, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, USA
• 2018 Best Conference Paper Finalist, International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS), Japan
• 2017 Higher Degree by Research Excellence Award, University of Newcastle, Australia
• 2015 International Conference Travel Award, Zurich Instruments AG, Switzerland
• 2013 Best Student Paper Finalist, IEEE/ASME Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics Conference, Australia

RESEARCH FUNDING

Dr Ruppert has received over $3.5 million in academic research funding including more than $540,000 in direct research funding from industrial partners. He currently holds a 2024 ARC Discovery Early Researcher Award (DECRA) and is a Chief Investigator on a 2024 ARC Discovery Project and 2025 ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grant. Selected major grants are listed below.

• 2025, $680,000, Co-CI, Hybrid Integration: Advancing Semiconductors, Quantum and Photonics, ARC LIEF (LE250100147)
• 2024, $444,471, Sole CI, Integrated active microcantilevers for high-throughput nanometrology, ARC DECRA (DE240100507)
• 2024, $700,651, Co-CI, Unlocking the mechanisms of vibro-acoustic communication in termites, ARC DP (DP240101536)
• 2024, $288,000, Lead CI Nearmap Pty Ltd, Australia
• 2022, $176,000, Lead CI Breville Pty Ltd, Australia
• 2021, $231,000, Co-CI (2nd), Subsurface Atomic Force Microscopy using Dual Probes, ARC DP (DP210103383)
• 2021, $375,782, Co-CI (2nd), Femtoliter Liquid Deposition Facility, ARC LIEF (LE210100184)
• 2021, $22,338, Sole CI, Nearfield Instruments B.V., The Netherlands
• 2021, $60,000, Co-CI, Breville Pty Ltd, Australia
• 2019, $17,884, Lead CI, German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany
• 2019, $813,000, Co-CI, A femtosecond laser micromachining facility for a wide range of materials, ARC LIEF (LE190100066)

EDITORIAL & PROFESSIONAL ROLES

• 2023 - ongoing, Associate Editor, IFAC Mechatronics Journal
• 2019 - 2022, Associate Editor, IEEE Control Systems Letters (L‑CSS)
• 2018 - 2021, Associate Editor, IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board