John Till (MS ME \u201918, PhD ME \u201919) never imagined that reading a newsletter article about a surgical robotics company would lead him to his dream job in another country, but it did just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The article was about CMR Surgical, located in Cambridge, England, which is transforming surgery by using a next-generation surgical robot named Versius that allows surgeons to perform less invasive surgeries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTheir trajectory is astounding, having already performed almost 2,500 keyhole surgeries for actual patients since being founded in 2014,\u201d said Till. \u201cThe most exciting part is CMR\u2019s mission to make minimally invasive surgery more accessible on a global scale so more patients can enjoy the benefits of short recovery times, less time in hospitals, and reduced scarring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Till learned more about CMR he knew it was a place he would love to work, so he applied, and to his surprise was offered a job as a software engineer. Last November, he packed up his belongings and moved to Cambridge to start his new career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCurrently I\u2019m engaged with testing the robot to verify the actual behaviour matches our expectations,\u201d said Till. \u201cThis is a fun way to start working with the codebase because I get to control the robot like a surgeon would, albeit with considerably less skill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will eventually learn the considerable process control in place for the production software team and start contributing to the code base more heavily, but in the meantime he\u2019s happy putting the robot through its paces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most exciting part is to be exposed to the organizational excellence of CMR that\u2019s enabled them to accomplish so much in so little time,\u201d said Till. \u201cI know that will be incredibly valuable whether I remain in industry or return to academia at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Till is also enjoying the opportunity to use and expand the skills he gained while working in UT\u2019s Robotics, Engineering, Applied Continuum Mechanics, and Healthcare Laboratory under the direction of Associate Professor Caleb Rucker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeyond working with Caleb, I benefited from MABE\u2019s excellent robotics curriculum, which prepares you to tackle advanced robot modelling and control tasks,\u201d said Till. \u201cI\u2019m humbled to be around some very smart and accomplished people at CMR, yet I am confident my experience at UT has prepared me to contribute and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Till isn\u2019t sure where his career path will lead him in the future, but he\u2019s loving every minute of his time in England and working in a position where he feels that he\u2019s making a difference in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter where life takes him, he\u2019ll always be grateful to UT and exemplify the Volunteer spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would just like to say a big thank you to the faculty and staff at UT, particularly the robotics instructors,\u201d said Till. \u201cGo Vols!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
John Till\u2019s journey from UT to CMR Surgical in England shows how passion for robotics can lead to a dream job advancing minimally invasive surgery worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[96],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-john-till"],"yoast_head":"\n