David Cyganski
Professor Emeritus
cyganski@wpi.edu
Faculty
Jing Xiao
Professor & Department Head
My research spans robotics, haptics, multi-modal perception, and artificial intelligence, at the intersection of computer science and engineering. There are two highly related themes in my robotics research: one is the focus on “contact sport”, i.e., the contact and interaction between a robot or a part/tool it holds and the environment, and the other is real-time adaptiveness of robots to uncertainty and uncertain changes in an environment based on perception. ... View Profile
Greg Lewin
Assistant Teaching Professor- Engineering Science
Dr. Lewin is the Associate Director of Robotics Engineering. He teaches courses that focus on system integration, sensor and data processing, and system design. Prior to joining WPI, Dr. Lewin was an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia, where he directed the Technology Leaders Program, an interdisciplinary engineering program focusing on the design of cyber-physical systems. He has performed research and development of sensor systems, turbomachinery, energy systems, and robots in both academic and industrial settings. ... View Profile
Cagdas Onal
Associate Professor/Graduate Coordinator
An integral part of a rewarding academic career is being an educator. It is a wonderful opportunity to work with students and guide their development to fulfill their potential. I enjoy teaching the fundamentals of robotics engineering, science and technology as well as training students in advanced independent research. I aim to teach students about research-based thinking and problem solving, to give them a real career choice to determine their future in further research or the industry. ... View Profile
Mohammad Mahdi Agheli Hajiabadi
Assistant Teaching Professor
Nicholas Bertozzi
Senior Instructor
I am delighted to return to full-time teaching as an instructor in the robotics engineering program at WPI after a long and very satisfying career at Daniel Webster College (DWC) where I had the opportunity to teach courses in engineering design (including CAD/CAM), statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, and differential equations. I also had the privilege to serve as dean of the DWC School of Engineering and Computer Science (5/2009-12/2015). ... View Profile
Berk Calli
Assistant Professor-Engineering
Berk's research primarily focuses on problems related to robotic manipulation, which is a key functionality largely missing from the current state of the art in robotics for unstructured environments, including homes, modern warehouses, and collaborative manufacturing stations. He develops multi-modal robotic manipulation strategies mainly focusing on the role of vision feedback for coping with uncertainties of unstructured environments. ... View Profile
Siavash Farzan
Assistant Teaching Professor
Siavash Farzan is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Robotics Engineering Department at WPI. Farzan received a Ph.D. in Robotics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2021. His research focuses on safety-critical motion planning and control of underactuated robotic systems, while providing formal guarantees on their performance in the presence of modeling uncertainties and disturbances. Farzan brings several years of experience in industry as an Embedded Systems Engineer into classroom. ... View Profile
Loris Fichera
Assistant Professor-Engineering
My research interests are in the application of robotics and computer science to enhance medicine, and particularly surgery. What gets me out of bed in the morning is the prospect of helping doctors save lives and improve the quality of life of their patients. My students and I work side-to-side with clinical collaborators to create technology that presents a tangible clinical value – for instance, making an existing surgical procedure more accurate or enabling new procedures that are not feasible with current instrumentation. ... View Profile
Gregory S. Fischer
Professor
Professor Fischer is the William Smith Dean's Professor and a faculty member in Robotics Engineering with a appointments in Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at WPI. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from Johns Hopkins University, where he was part of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgery. At WPI he has been an integral part of developing the Robotics Engineering program and teaches primarily junior-level and graduate courses in Robotics. ... View Profile
Michael A. Gennert
Professor
I teach and conduct research to solve problems that will make the world better: safer, healthier, and happier. Working with undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and other faculty, we develop humanoid robots for disaster recovery, robots to inspect trees for invasive insect pests, and autonomous boats for monitoring lakes. In the past I have worked on medical imaging to improve cancer and heart disease diagnoses and treatment, and spatio-temporal databases for global change research. In my spare time I like to hike, bike, ski, canoe, and play frisbee.
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Zhi Li
Assistant Professor
My research bridges the gap between human-robot interaction and human movement science. I am particularly interested in the design of human-robot interfaces and assistive robot autonomy, based on the understanding of the perception-action coupling of humans and cyber-human systems. At WPI, I primarily work on tele-nursing robots and assisted teleoperation interfaces. I also have extensive experience in exoskeletons for rehabilitation and tele-surgical robots.
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William R. Michalson
Professor
I joined the faculty of the ECE Department in 1991 after leaving Raytheon Company, where I spent approximately 12 years involved with the development of embedded computers for guidance, communications, and data processing systems for spaceborne and terrestrial applications. At WPI I perform research and teach in the areas of navigation, communications, and computer system design. ... View Profile
Markus Nemitz
Assistant Professor
My research focuses on the creation, modeling, and control of robotic soft matter. Instead of using soft materials for the design of manipulators, I am interested in robotizing otherwise passive elastomeric materials. The goal is to develop programmable robotic soft matter that is able to change its shape; insights from biological organisms will help to develop strategies for the control of morphology.
I grew up in Germany where I studied electrical engineering in Bochum. I subsequently moved to Scotland to study electronics and robotics in Edinburgh. ... View Profile
Carlo Pinciroli
Assistant Professor of Robotics Engineering and Assistant Professor of Fire Protection Engineering
The focus of my research is designing innovative tools for swarm robotics. I am developing Buzz, a programming language specifically designed for real-world robot swarms. During my Ph.D., I have designed ARGoS, which is currently the fastest general-purpose robot simulator in the literature. Recent work focuses on human-swarm interaction and multi-robot learning. I am also working on swarm robotics solutions for disaster response scenarios, such as search-and-rescue and firefighting.
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Marko B. Popovic
Assistant Teaching Professor
In the spirit of a multidisciplinary researcher also referred to as a polymath or renaissance man, Prof. Marko B. Popovic's research interest ranges across numerous fields including engineering robotics systems that assist and augment humans, biomechatronics, biomechanics, neuroscience and sensorimotor control, space and planetary robotics, bio-inspired engineering, as well as fundamental physics, specifically theoretical particle physics. Prof. ... View Profile
Xiangrui Zeng
Assistant Professor
My research covers a variety of topics in automotive dynamic system and mobility cyber-physical system modeling, analysis, estimation and control. Specifically, my current work is focused on data-enhanced intelligent optimal control for connected and automated vehicles and advanced algorithms for transportation network cyber-physical systems. ... View Profile
Haichong Zhang
Assistant Professor
The research program led by Dr. Haichong (Kai) Zhang focuses on the interface of medical robotics, sensing, and imaging, and to develop a novel biomedical imaging systems that delineates both anatomical and physiological properties of a biological tissue that have been inaccessible. In addition, we will develop robotic assisted imaging systems as well as image-guided robotic interventional platforms, where ultrasound and photoacoustic (PA) imaging are two key modalities to be investigated and integrated with robotics. ... View Profile
Research Staff
Christopher Julius Nycz
Research - RSI
Education:
PhD Robotics Engineering WPI 2018
MS Robotics Engineering WPI 2016
BS Mechanical Engineering Clarkson University 2013
Christopher Nycz is a research scientist working with WPI's PracticePoint center for advancing healthcare cyber-physical systems. In this role, Chris is responsible for managing a broad range of industry-academia projects in areas including biomechatronics, image guided therapy, smart-home environments, and surgical robotics. ... View Profile
Staff
Kristen Bronger
Administrative Assistant V
Kristen provides administrative support to the Robotics Engineering Department. These responsibilities include supporting the graduate program, purchasing supplies for faculty and students, and overseeing the TA/RA hiring and payroll. She has a M.S. from Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) in Environmental Management and a B.S. from the University of Rhode Island in Marine and Coastal Management Policy. Kristen enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the outdoors, and traveling.
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Katherine J. Crighton
Operations Manager
Katherine is the Operations Manager for the Computer Science Department. Their responsibilities include working with the Department Head, assisting faculty, and managing budgetary and financial matters. She has a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, and so naturally she spent several years in both science fiction and academic STEM publishing. Katherine enjoys spending time with her family, writing, and watching appalling movies.
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Bradley A. Miller
Assoc Dir Robotics Res Ctr
Francis P O'Rourke
Assistant Director, Robotics Resource Center
Colleen Shaver
Colleen Shaver
Director, Robotics Resource Center
Retired Faculty
Fred Looft
Professor Emeritus
fjlooft@wpi.edu
Craig Putnam
Former Associate Director
and Senior Instructor
Associated Faculty
| Name | Title | Phone Extension | Office Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmanuel O. Agu | Associate Professor | emmanuel@wpi.edu | 5568 | Fuller Labs, 139 |
| Holly Ault | Associate Professor | hkault@wpi.edu | 5498 | Higgins Labs, 208 |
| Scott Barton | Assistant Professor | sdbarton@wpi.edu | 5260 | Alden Memorial, 208 |
| Torbjorn Bergstrom | Operations Manager | torbjorn@wpi.edu | 5122 | Washburn Shops, 107 |
| Christopher Brown | Professor | brown@wpi.edu | 5627 | Washburn Shops, 235 |
| Cosme Furlong | Associate Professor | cfurlong@wpi.edu | 5126 | Higgins Laboratories, 152 |
| Glenn R. Gaudette | Professor | gaudette@wpi.edu | 6086 | Gateway Park 4012 |
| Xinming Huang | Associate Professor | xhuang@wpi.edu | 5771 | Atwater Kent Laboratories, 303 |
| Dmitry Korkin | Associate Professor | dkorkin@wpi.edu | Fuller Laboratories, BL22 | |
| Yuxiang Shawn Liu | Assistant Professor | yliu11@wpi.edu | 4829 | Higgins Laboratories, 110 |
| Carlos Morato | Adjunct Professor | cwmorato@wpi.edu | ||
| Pradeep Radhakrishnan | Assistant Teaching Professor | pradhakrishnan@wpi.edu | ||
| Lenore Rasmussen | Adjunct Professor | wlrasmussen@wpi.edu | 85 Prescott | |
| Candace Sidner | Research Professor | sidner@wpi.edu | 6637 | Fuller Laboratories, 140 |
| Jeanine Skorinko | Associate Professor | skorninko@wpi.edu | 5451 | Salisbury Laboratories, 371C |
| Erin Solovey | Associate Professor | esolovey@wpi.edu | 6936 | Fuller Laboratories, B21 |
| Alexander Wyglinski | Associate Professor | alexw@wpi.edu | 5491 | Atwater Kent Laboratories, 230 |
| Ziming Zhang | Assistant Professor | zzhang15@wpi.edu | Atwater Kent Laboratories, 217 | |
| Yihao Zheng | Assistant Professor | yzheng8@wpi.edu | 4649 | Higgins Laboratories, 150 |
Affiliated Faculty
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Jie Fu | jfu2@wpi.edu |
| Hideyuki Kimpara | hkimpara@wpi.edu |