Catherine Mohr

Catherine Jane Mohr (née Anderson, b. 1968) is a medical researcher from New Zealand, residing in the United States, who specializes in developing telemanipulator robotics for making surgery less invasive, and therefore providing faster recovery for patients. She had also designed fuel cells for land vehicles and high-altitude airplanes and studied sustainable architecture. When she was a preschooler her family moved to the United States so her father could pursue postdoctoral research. They have a daughter, Natalie. Also on her team was Megan Smith, who later became the Chief Technology Officer of the United States under President Barack Obama. Mohr graduated in 1992; her Masters' Thesis was entitled: "The Design of a Compact Actuator System for a Robotic Wrist/Hand." Although she was originally working towards a Ph.D., Mohr decided to leave school and work on electric cars. So, although she was doing research in partnerships with the major US car companies, the fact that in the mid-1990s there was no sign of hybrid or electric cars would be sold to consumers became an issue for her. It became part of the da Vinci Surgical System, developed by Intuitive Surgical, where she would later spend much of her career.

While in medical school, Mohr also founded medical device start-up Veresure to market the LapCap, a tool she invented that made laparoscopic surgery safer. During laparoscopic surgery, it is necessary to lift the abdominal wall away from the abdominal cavity, or else surgeons risk harming the intestines or a large blood vessel. At the time, the common way to lift the area was to use towel clips on either side of the navel. She sold it to Aragon Surgical in 2006. Additionally, she has been on the medical faculty at Singularity University, located at Moffet Field, since 2009.

Mohr is a member of Sigma Xi and the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering. “Flying Kiwi” New Zealand Hi-Tech Hall of Fame (2014) World Class New Zealander (2014) Hood Fellowship, The Lion Foundation (2014) Silicon Valley Business Journal Women of Influence (2020) - recognized for work to get personal protective equipment for medical personnel in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. green architecture, and a diving accident involving a sea urchin that just predated her horseback riding accident in which she broke her pelvis.