Caleb Rucker

Biography

August 2023-Present
Associate Professor and B. Ray Thompson Professor, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN

2019-2023
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN

2013-2019
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN

2011-2013
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Biomedical Modeling Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

2007-2011
Research Assistant, Medical and Electromechanical Design Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Personal Website

Education

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University
• BS, Engineering Mechanics and Mathematics, Lipscomb University

Research

• Robotics, Dynamics
• Solid Mechanics
• Medical Applications
• Computer-Aided Surgeryent

Professional Service

• Member, IEEE

Awards and Recognitions

• MABE Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, 2015
• Best Medical Robotics Paper Finalist IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2012
• VUSE Best Student Paper Award, Vanderbilt School of Engineering, 2010

Publications

• H. Su, G. Li, D. C. Rucker, R. J. Webster III, G. Fischer. A Concentric Tube Continuum Robot with Piezoelectric Actuation for MRI-Guided Closed-loop Targeting. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 1-11, 2016.
• H. B. Gilbert, D. C. Rucker, and R. J. Webster III. Concentric Tube Robots: The State of the Art and Future Directions. Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics. 19, 253-269, 2016.
• A. Orekhov, C. Bryson, J. Till, S. Chung, and D. C. Rucker. Analysis and Validation of a Teleoperated Surgical Parallel Continuum Manipulator. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 1(2), 828-835, 2016.
• J. Burgner-Kahrs, D. C. Rucker, H. Choset. Continuum Robots for Medical Applications: A Survey. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 31(6), 1261-1280, 2015.
• A. L. Simpson, K. Sun, T. S. Pheiffer, D. C. Rucker, A. K. Sills, R. C. Thompson, M. I. Miga.  Evaluation of Conoscopic Holography for Estimating Resection Cavities in Model-Based Image-Guided Neurosurgery. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 61(6), 1833-1843, 2014.
• T. S. Pheiffer, R. C. Thompson, D. C. Rucker, A. L. Simpson, M. I. Miga. Model-Based Correction of Tissue Compression for Tracked Ultrasound in Soft Tissue Image-Guided Surgery. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 40(4), 788-803, 2014.
• D. C. Rucker, Y. Wu, L. W. Clements, J. E. Ondrake, T. S. Pheiffer, A. L. Simpson, W. R. Jarnagin, and Michael I. Miga, A Mechanics-Based Nonrigid Registration Method for Liver Surgery using Sparse Intraoperative Data. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 33(1), 147-158, 2014.
• J. Burgner, D. C. Rucker, H. B. Gilbert, P. J. Swaney, P. T. Russell, K. D. Weaver, and R. J. Webster III. A Telerobotic System for Transnasal Surgery. IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics, 19(3), 996-1006, 2014.
• D. C. Rucker, H. B. Gilbert, P. J. Swaney, J. Das, M. I. Miga, N. Sarkar, and R. J. Webster III. Sliding-Mode Control of Steerable Needles. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 29(5), 1289-1299, 2013.
• J. Burgner, P. J. Swaney, T. L. Bruns, M. S. Clark, D. C. Rucker, E. C. Burdette, and R. J. Webster III. An Autoclavable Steerable Cannula Manual Deployment Device: Design and Accuracy Analysis. ASME Journal of Medical Devices, 6(4), 041007, 2012.
• D. C. Rucker and R. J. Webster III. Statics and Dynamics of Continuum Robots with General Tendon Routing and External Loading. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 27(6), 1033-1044, 2011.
• D. C. Rucker, B. A. Jones, and R. J. Webster III.A Geometrically Exact Model for Externally Loaded Concentric Tube Continuum Robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 26(5), 769-780, 2010.
• D. C. Rucker, R. J. Webster III, G. S. Chirikjian, and N. J. Cowan. Equilibrium Conformations of Concentric-Tube Continuum Robots. International Journal of Robotics Research, 29(10), 1263-1280, 2010.
• D. C. Rucker and R. J. Webster III. Parsimonious Evaluation of Concentric-Tube Continuum Robot Equilibrium Conformation. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 56(9), 2308-2311, 2009.