Siobhan Rigby Oca

Research Themes

Robotics & Autonomy

Research Interests

Robotics Education, Medical Robotics, Human Robot Interaction, Engineering Education

Bio

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. 

Education

• B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016
• M.S. University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, 2017
• Ph.D. Duke University, 2022

Positions

• 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

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Mara H. Wasburn Early Engineering Educator Award. American Society of Engineering Educators: Women in Engineering Division. 2024

Courses Taught

• MENG 551: Master of Engineering Internship/Project Assessment
• MENG 550: Master of Engineering Internship/Project
• 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

Publications

• Oca SR, Hament B. Implementing and Using ROS in Undergraduate Robotics Curricula. In: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings. 2024.
• Oca SR, Velasco JL, Lindstrom K, Bridgeman LJ, Buckland DM. 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). IEEE; 2024. p. 1483u201390.
• Oca S, Lipp GM. 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 R, Yamamoto KK, Oca SR, Ross W, Codd PJ. Brain-Mimicking Phantom for Photoablation and Visualization. Int Symp Med Robot. 2023 Apr;2023.
• Rigby Oca S, Strong A, Havas J, Buckland DM, Bridgeman LJ. Development and Testing of a Durable and Novel Breast Phantom for Robotic Autonomous Ultrasound Systems. Journal of Medical Robotics Research. 2022 Dec 1;7(4).
• Oca SR, Havas J, Bridgeman LJ, Buckland DM. Durable Breast Phantom with Geometric and Mechanical Properties approximating Human Tissue for Ultrasound Image and Robotic System Testing. In: 2022 International Symposium on Medical Robotics Ismr 2022. 2022.
• Oca SR, Navas A, Leiman E, Buckland DM. Effect of language interpretation modality on throughput and mortality for critical care patients: A retrospective observational study. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2021 Aug;2(4):e12477.
• Ma G, Oca SR, Zhu Y, Codd PJ, Buckland DM. A Novel Robotic System for Ultrasound-guided Peripheral Vascular Localization. In: Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2021. p. 12321u20137.

In The News

• Not Your Parentsu2019 Robots: Preparing Future Tech Leaders (Jan 30, 2025 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Pratt Researchers Imagine Robots of Tomorrow, From the Surgical Table to Outer Space (Nov 14, 2024 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• u2018Character Forwardu2019 Aims to Build Better Engineers (Oct 29, 2024 | Kenan Institute for Ethics)
• It All Connects to Climate (May 23, 2023 | Duke Today)
• Engineering an Engaging Curriculum in Robotics (Apr 25, 2023 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Siobhan Rigby Oca: Designing Robotics Education at Duke (Aug 19, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Undergraduate Course in Robotics Gets Reboot with Help of Engineering Doctoral Student (Nov 16, 2021 | )
• Bass Instructional Fellowships Broaden Teaching, Career Opportunities (Nov 10, 2021 | )
• NASA Climbs Aboard with Support for Robot Project (Jun 26, 2020 | Pratt School of Engineering)