Our team

Founder & Runner

Steven founded Mission I.A.M. to push progress forward, create technology that truly improves lives, share a thrilling journey - and have fun along the way.

Fueled by crazy ambitions and grounded in real action - with boots on the ground…uh…running shoes in the sand - he walks the talk.
His mission? To inspire the world to join in developing a bionic leg that empowers amputees to run the Marathon des Sables in 2030.
Want to join - contact Steven!

A crazy goal. A relentless desert. A bionic leg that says: no limits.

Scientific Lead

Massimo is Full Professor and the Head of Chair of Neuromuscular Robotics at the University of Twente where he also directs the NEUBOTICS Lab -  Neuromechanics and Neuromuscular Robotics Lab. 

His research focuses on understanding how human movement emerges from the interplay between the nervous and the musculoskeletal systems. His goal is to translate such knowledge for the development of symbiotic assistive robots such as exoskeletons and bionic limbs. 

Ambassador

Prof. Dr. Maroeska Rovers is the Scientific Director of the Technical Medical Centre (TechMed) at the University of Twente and a professor at Radboudumc, where she specializes in medical technology and innovation.

She is also the director of Health Innovation Netherlands (HI-NL) and an active member of several prominent international boards, including the scientific committee of EXCITE International, the IDEAL collaboration, and the EU's Science and Innovation Panel for the IHI program.

Scientific Lead

Massimo is Full Professor and the Head of Chair of Neuromuscular Robotics at the University of Twente where he also directs the NEUBOTICS Lab -  Neuromechanics and Neuromuscular Robotics Lab. 

His research focuses on understanding how human movement emerges from the interplay between the nervous and the musculoskeletal systems. His goal is to translate such knowledge for the development of symbiotic assistive robots such as exoskeletons and bionic limbs. 

Research Supervisor

Gijs is Full Professor of the chair of MEMS-Design focussing on bioinspired transducers. His current research interests are Transducers science (including parametric and nonlinear transduction), Biomimetic sensors and 3D printed transducers.

Research Supervisor

Frank is Assistent Professor in the Biomedical Systems & Signals group. His research focuses on the use of ambulatory sensing for human motion analysis. This involves various types of kinematic and/or dynamic sensing. His main expertise is in the field of inertial measurement units, as the versatility of these sensors help us sense/estimate most relevant outcomes of human movement.

Research Supervisor

Irfan is Assistant Professor on AI and Sensing and leading the HARMONI Lab within the Chair of Neuromuscular Robotics.. My research focuses include fusion of model-based and learning-based biomechanical models, learning human-exosuit interactions for improved assistance, and applications for occupational and space tasks. here

Researcher Supervisor

Rafael is researcher at the Chair of Neuromuscular Robotics and motivated by his fascination for neural interfacing technologies and motor-restoring technologies. HIs research combines neuronal modelling, electrophysiological recordings (i.e., high-density electromyography) and signal processing.

MSc student

Karlijn is a Biomedical Engineering Master student specializing in physiological signals and systems.
In the Mission I.A.M. project, she’s working on a minimal off-the-shelf IMU setup to measure leg kinematics and kinetics during the Marathon des Sables.

MSc student

Marisa is a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in Medical Device Design.
As part of Mission I.A.M., I am working on developing a real-time, sensor-driven digital human twin that simulates and analyzes leg biomechanics during walking and running, outside of a lab setting. The system combines wearables sensors such as Inertial Measuring Units (IMUs) and electromyography (EMG), with musculoskeletal modelling tools, such as OpenSim and CEINMS. Ultimately, this digital twin will run on an embedded system, which will enable real-time biomechanical monitoring.

MSc student

Just is a Robotics Master student at the University of Twente specializing in human-robot interaction.
For his master thesis, he contribute to the Mission I.A.M. project by developing custom re-usable, flexible multi-material 3D printed sensors to be used together with off-the-shelf electronics to create a robust smart wearable, which is intended to gather data during Marathon des Sables in November 2025.

Runner

Professional hockey coach, fanatic runner, getting things done. Without missing a beat, he joined Mission I.A.M. from the 1st second.

Trainer

She’s an IRONMAN 🤯🔥

Providing weekly training schedules, motivation, making sure we are fit and well prepared. And an enthusiastic Mission I.A.M Ambassador at the same time!

Journalist & host

It took half a phone call to get Anic hooked to Mission I.A.M. - enthusiastic tech girl diving in this great adventure head first!

Creative director

It took Anic half a phone call to get Jim hooked! High quality content and amazings shots for the Mission I.A.M. teaser - the first important step towards The Goal!

Producer

Running a smooth production - invaluable to get things from start to finish.

Director of Photography

Working on commercials, narrative film, or experimental projects, translates creative vision into powerful imagery.

Director of Photography

Brings visual storytelling to life. From TV shows to large-scale productions, always capturing emotion in every frame.

Edit / color / audio

Shaping hours of footage into compelling stories, bringing rhythm, structure, and emotion to every project.