Faculty
Yan Gu, Associate Professor
ME 2195 | yangu at purdue dot edu |
Dr. Yan Gu received her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Zhejiang University (China) in June 2011 and her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in August 2017. She was the recipient of the Chu Kochen Scholarship at Zhejiang University, and the Frederick N. Andrews Fellowship and the Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching at Purdue University. Dr. Gu joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell as an Assistant Professor in September 2017. In July 2022, she joined the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University as an Associate Professor. She received the NSF CAREER Award in 2021 and the ONR Young Investigator Program Award in 2023.
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Graduate Students
Zenan Zhu, Ph.D. student,
Purdue zhu1134 at purdue dot edu |
Zenan Zhu received his B.S degree in Mechanical Engineering from UMass Lowell in 2018. His internship experience at a robotics company motivated him to pursue an M.S. degree at UMass Lowell and explore the research area of robotics. One of Zenan's past projects was the development of a robotics arena for the 5G Verizon Robotics Challenge. Zenan is currently working on state estimation and optimization-based control of ankle exoskeletons for fatigue mitigation.
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Zijian He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2020 and 2022. Zijian founded Purdue RoboMaster Club in 2017 when he was a sophomore. He designed five different robots for the club and constructed the control system for them. Thus, he gained lots of experience in mechanical design and system control by running this club for five years. He also developed a Vertically Integrated Project course based on club works to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to do research about machine learning, computer vision, and control system. Zijian is currently working on state estimation and control of bipedal humanoid robots.
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I-Chia Chang received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2022. He was the recipient of the Ross Fellowship from Purdue University. I-Chia enjoyed volunteering in education activities. He served as a mentor in one FRC team and a volunteer in FRC events. His previous research focuses on reduced-order modeling and agile movement generation for a hexapod robot with compliant legs. He also worked on the locomotion design of a leg-wheel transformable quadruped robot to improve its energy efficiency. Now, I-Chia is currently working on mechanism design and control of bipedal humanoid robots.
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Wenxi Chen received his bachelor's degree in Aircraft Engineering from Huazhong Univerisity of Science and Technology in 2020 and his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University with a concentration in robotics and control in 2022. His research interest stems from several lab research experiences with research topics in machine learning, data science, robot design, and control. Wenxi is a Ph.D. student co-advised by Dr. Yan Gu and Dr. Shaoshuai Mou, and his thesis research focuses on human-robot collaboration.
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Stephen Misenti graduated from UMass Lowell in 2021 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and with a minor in Robotics. He is now pursuing an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at UMass Lowell to further his education in the field of robotics. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Stephen enjoys spending his free time by playing video games, 3D printing, and hiking New Hampshire’s mountains. His research at the TRACE Lab will lead to his thesis on optimization-based planning and control of loco-manipulation.
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Magnus-Tryggvi Kosoko-Thoroddsen received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2023. His education experience focused on dynamics and controls, as well as internship experience with Myomo Inc. and an undergraduate research position with the MIT-NASA MOXIE Group, has pushed him to pursue an M.S. at Purdue to further investigate non-linear control and control design of humanoid robotics. Magnus is currently working with a team of undergraduate students to refurbish a Hubo+ robot for his thesis.
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Undergraduate Students
Russell Black
ME (major), ECE (minor) |
Andrew Donis
ME |
Advait Jawaji
ME |
Leo Liu
ME |
Will Mortley
ME |
Jason Xie
ME |
Past Members
Yuan Gao, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2023. [dissertation]
Amir Iqbal, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2023. [dissertation]
Brendan Duffy, undergraduate researcher, 2023. Now B.S. student at Purdue University.
Dilara Baysal, undergraduate researcher, 2023. Now B.S. student at Columbia University.
Alexander M. Barr, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Caroline Bisio, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Emmanual Aybar Estrella, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Daniel Germán George, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Cyrus Ghorbani, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022. Now systems test engineer at Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Chengyue Li, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Luis Matos, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Duy Phan, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Aaron Soibelman, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022. Now M.S. student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Richard Kumahia, B.S.C.E, 2022. Now M.S. student at Northeastern University.
Kentaro Barhydt, visiting researcher, 2021. Now Ph.D. student at MIT.
Samuel Burns, B.S.M.E., 2021. Now Ph.D. student at Tufts University.
Dennon Audette, B.S.M.E., 2020. Now Mechanical Engineer at Mayflower Communications Company, Inc.
Marry McCarron, B.S.M.E., 2019. Now Mechanical Engineer at Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Nicholas Deane, B.S.M.E., 2018. Now Project Engineer at David Clark Company, Inc.
Amir Iqbal, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2023. [dissertation]
Brendan Duffy, undergraduate researcher, 2023. Now B.S. student at Purdue University.
Dilara Baysal, undergraduate researcher, 2023. Now B.S. student at Columbia University.
Alexander M. Barr, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Caroline Bisio, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Emmanual Aybar Estrella, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Daniel Germán George, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Cyrus Ghorbani, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022. Now systems test engineer at Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Chengyue Li, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Luis Matos, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Duy Phan, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022.
Aaron Soibelman, B.S.M.E., University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2022. Now M.S. student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Richard Kumahia, B.S.C.E, 2022. Now M.S. student at Northeastern University.
Kentaro Barhydt, visiting researcher, 2021. Now Ph.D. student at MIT.
Samuel Burns, B.S.M.E., 2021. Now Ph.D. student at Tufts University.
Dennon Audette, B.S.M.E., 2020. Now Mechanical Engineer at Mayflower Communications Company, Inc.
Marry McCarron, B.S.M.E., 2019. Now Mechanical Engineer at Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Nicholas Deane, B.S.M.E., 2018. Now Project Engineer at David Clark Company, Inc.
Future Students
Two funded Ph.D. positions in legged robotics are available at the TRACE Lab in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University for Spring 2024 and Fall 2024. Successful candidates will receive a research assistantship including tuition waiver and stipend. If you are interested in these open positions or have any questions about them, feel free to reach out to Dr. Yan Gu (yangu at purdue dot edu).
===== Application requirements =====
Candidates with a strong background and interest in more than one of the following areas are welcome to apply:
Required qualifications:
===== Application procedure =====
To apply for the positions, please email Dr. Gu a single PDF including your cover letter, a full CV, contact information of 3 references, and transcripts. You will also need to submit your application for the Ph.D. program in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University following the instructions on the following website:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/Graduate/Prospective/ApplicationRequirementsOnCampus.
===== Application deadlines =====
To receive full consideration for the research assistantships, the application deadlines are:
===== Application requirements =====
Candidates with a strong background and interest in more than one of the following areas are welcome to apply:
- Robotics.
- Legged robots, including bipeds, quadrupeds, and exoskeletons.
- Mechatronics and mechanical design.
- Controls.
- Optimization.
- Dynamic systems.
Required qualifications:
- A B.S. and/or M.S. degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer Engineering, or related areas.
- Solid programing skills (e.g., C/C++, Python, and Matlab).
- Good communication, presentation, and writing skills.
===== Application procedure =====
To apply for the positions, please email Dr. Gu a single PDF including your cover letter, a full CV, contact information of 3 references, and transcripts. You will also need to submit your application for the Ph.D. program in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University following the instructions on the following website:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/Graduate/Prospective/ApplicationRequirementsOnCampus.
===== Application deadlines =====
To receive full consideration for the research assistantships, the application deadlines are:
- September 15, 2023 (for beginning Ph.D. study in Spring 2024)
- December 1, 2023 (for beginning Ph.D. study in Fall 2024)