Hello and welcome to my website! I am currently in my fifth year in the PhD program here at the University of Pennsylvania. I am conducting my research in the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, Perception (GRASP) Lab.

Advisor: Vijay Kumar

Research Interests:

• Meso and Micro-scale manipulation and assembly
• Mechatronics
• Robotic system integration
• Medical robotics
• MEMS design and fabrication

Latest News:

Recent/Upcoming Talks:

SAAST Robotics - An Intensive Three Week Robotics Program for High School Students, ASME 2007 International Design Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC), September 6th, 2007, Las Vegas, NV.

Automation of Micro and Meso-scale Manipulation with Applications to Manufacturing and Biotechnology, The Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Guest Lecture, December 19, 2007, New York, NY.

Automation of Micro and Meso-scale Manipulation with Applications to Manufacturing and Biotechnology, University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Mechanical Engineering Seminar, January 15, 2008, Reno, NV.

Automation of Micro and Meso-scale Manipulation with Applications to Manufacturing and Biotechnology, University of Arkansas, Mechanical Engineering Department Seminar, January 28, 2008, Fayetteville, AR.

Automation of Micro and Meso-scale Manipulation with Applications to Manufacturing and Biotechnology, Temple University, Mechanical Engineering Department Seminar, February 1, 2008, Philadelphia, PA.

Meso-scale Manipulation: System, Modeling, Planning and Control, Video presentation, IEEE 2008 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 19-23, 2008, Pasadena, CA.

Publications:

Meso-scale Manipulation: System, Modeling, Planning and Control, Video submission, IEEE 2008 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 19-23, 2008, Pasadena, CA. - Accepted

Recent Media/Press Coverage:

Robot Camp – Robots Invade University City, NBC 10 Live at 5, July 27, 2007, WNBC Philadelphia

Robot Battle in West Philly, FOX 29 Ten O’Clock News, July 27, 2007, WTXF-TV (FOX) Philadelphia

Can a Robot Get High School Students Interested in Studying Science and Engineering in College?, National Science Foundation Press Release 07-120, September 11, 2007

NSF-Funded Robotics Summer Camp Inspires Students, Robot magazine (www.botmag.com), Issue 09, Winter 2007

Micro/Meso-scale Manipulation, Microsoft Robotics Studio Blog, November 21, 2007

Background:

I graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree. After graduation from Villanova, I attended The Pennsylvania State University where I obtained a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree in 2000. I conducted my research while a member of the Engineering Design and Optimization Group (EDOG) under Dr. Mary Frecker. The title of my thesis was: Optimal Design of Piezoelectric Grasping Device for Minimally Invasive Surgery. I then worked for a medical device company just outside Boston, MA called Radionics, a division of Tyco Healthcare for three years before returning to school to pursue a Ph.D. in the Fall of 2003.