2023 - Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Thesis: Multi-robot Task and Motion Planning in Hybrid State Spaces
- Advisor: Nancy M. Amato
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2019 - M.S. in Computer Science, Texas A&M University
- Thesis: Interaction Templates for Multi-Robot Systems
- Advisor: Nancy M. Amato
2018 - B.S. in Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Minor in Mathematics
- Engineering Honors
- Undergraduate Research Scholar
Academic Appointment
2023-present - Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Parasol Lab. Advisor: Nancy M. Amato
Research Leadership & Supervision
I set research directions for teams involving at least 12 graduate students and coordinate project milestones, publications, and shared software development.
I have mentored more than 20 graduate students, including two Ph.D. and three master’s students through graduation as their primary day-to-day mentor. My mentorship has contributed to 11 student-led archival publications, including eight during my postdoc.
June 2026-present - Second Supervisor, King’s College London
- Andres Zamora, Ph.D. student: learning by abstraction for multi-robot planning. Primary supervisor: Khen Elimelech.
Proposal & Sponsored Research Development
NSF Advanced Manufacturing, Design, and Operations — October 2026
Pending. Originated the concept and shaped research questions for robotic workcell design tools for non-expert users, with AR/VR and human–robot interaction collaborators. Industry connections informed the direction and supported a letter of collaboration.
NSF Engineering Research Center Site Visit — March 2026
Developed research-thrust narrative and presentation materials supporting site-visit preparation.
NSF Foundational Research in Robotics — September 2025
Pending. Primary author of a proposal on natural-language preference specification for robotic motion behavior; coordinated collaboration with natural-language processing researchers.
Industry Proposals and White Papers — April 2025-present
Primary author of eight proposals and secondary author of four, covering human–robot interaction, multi-robot planning, environment design, and data-driven planning.
Teaching & Curriculum Development
2021-2023 - AI4ALL: teaching assistant (Fall 2021), instructor (Spring 2022), and lead instructor (Fall 2022-December 2023). Developed Discover AI curriculum and led instructor teams across participating universities.
2021 - Teaching assistant for the Computer Science Ph.D. seminar, UIUC.
2019-2021 - Helped develop and taught a motion-planning course for new Parasol Lab members.
Talks
October 2026 - Deciding What to Plan Together: DaSH for Multi-Robot Planning. Robot Interactive Intelligence (RobIn) Lab, The University of Texas at Austin
August 2026 - Adaptive Robot Coordination: Lessons, Limitations, and Opportunities. Aggie Autonomous Robotics Research Group, Texas A&M University
2026 - Lessons from Manufacturing Startups. AI Meets Robots & Machines Seminar, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2024 - Multi-Robot Task and Motion Planning in Hybrid State Spaces. Kavraki Lab, Rice University
2019 - Planning Motions and Tasks for Manipulators, Multi-Robot Systems and Biomolecules. Center for Autonomy Portfolio Discovery Workshop, UIUC
Service
Report-Writing Team Lead, 2026 Computing Research Association Summit
Led the report-writing team, contributed conference notes, compiled the report on Summit talks and discussions, and authored the executive summary.
Program Committee Member
- World Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics, 2026
- World Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics, 2024
Reviewer/Referee
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
- IEEE Transactions on Robotics
- IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
- IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
- IEEE International Symposium on Multi-Robot and Multi-Agent Systems
- World Symposium on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics
- International Journal of Robotics Research
- Artificial Intelligence Journal
Professional Member
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
Honors
Engineering Graduate Merit Fellowship
President’s Endowed Scholarship
Distinguished Student Award, Dwight Look College of Engineering
Industrial Affiliates Program Scholarship
Dell Merit Scholarship
Industry, Entrepreneurship & Research Translation
May 2024-May 2026 - Principal Software Engineer, Optigon Inc., part-time
- Led software development for DOE SBIR-funded high-throughput, non-contact spectroscopic metrology and analysis tools for clean-energy materials, including perovskite photovoltaics
- Developed machine learning analytical models of solar cell behavior
May 2023-August 2025 - Founder, Normandy Automation
- Developed autonomous robotic manufacturing concepts for just-in-time manufacturing with minimal human reprogramming
- Used AI and multi-robot systems for autonomous welding and CNC machine-tending workflows
- Wrote NSF SBIR proposals for autonomous robotic manufacturing systems
2019-2023 - Industrial Human-Robot Factory Collaboration, UIUC
- Collaborated with Foxconn Interconnect Technology and UIUC research groups led by Timothy Bretl and Katherine Driggs-Campbell on collaborative human-robot factory projects
- Connected multi-robot task and motion planning research to industrial assembly and human-robot collaboration settings