Panat is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, with courtesy appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science, and Robotics. He is Associate Director of Research at the Manufacturing Futures Institute. His work focuses on micro-scale additive manufacturing for biomedical devices and energy materials, including biosensors and brain-computer interfaces. He previously worked at Intel on microprocessor manufacturing and won awards for green IC development. He developed a rapid COVID-19 antibody test using 3D printing. He holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from UIUC.