Faculty
Yan Gu, Associate Professor
ME 3003A | 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. She received the NSF CAREER Award in 2021. In July 2022, she joined the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University as an Associate Professor.
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Graduate Students
Yuan Gao, Ph.D. candidate, UMass Lowell
yuan_gao at student dot uml dot edu |
Yuan Gao received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from China Jiliang University in 2014, and M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2016. Yuan developed a keen interest in robotics at a very young age. He decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree in robotics after getting exposed to the fascinating research field of robotics during his M.S. study. Yuan likes math and programming. He also enjoys skateboarding and playing electric guitar in his free time. Maybe one day his robot can skateboard and play guitar with him! Yuan's Ph.D. thesis research is on state estimation, online motion planning, and nonlinear control of hybrid systems with application to legged robot locomotion.
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Amir Iqbal, Ph.D. candidate,
UMass Lowell amir_iqbal at student dot uml dot edu |
Amir Iqbal received his B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). He was the recipient of Academic Excellence and Best All-Rounder Awards from IIST. In 2012, Amir joined the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as a Scientist/Engineer. At ISRO, he was responsible for the design, analysis, and realization of Mechanical Ground Support Equipment for satellites. His passion for understanding legged locomotion dynamics and developing controllers for stable and agile maneuver of bipeds led him to begin his Ph.D. study at the TRACE Lab. Amir's current research focuses on modeling, analysis, and control of legged locomotion on nonstationary surfaces.
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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, Ph.D. student, Purdue
he348 at purdue dot edu |
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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Ruochen Wang, Ph.D. student, Purdue
wang5745 at purdue dot edu |
Ruochen Wang received his B.S. degree in Material Science and Engineering from Chongqing University in 2017, and his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University in 2021. Ruochen's previous research concentrates on robotics grasping pose by adopting a new grasp evaluation metric and optimization algorithm. In this project, computer vision technology promotes project identification and robot arm calibration. Also, the reinforcement learning algorithm trains and optimizes robotic grasping policies. Now, Ruochen devotes himself to legged loco-manipulation control.
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I-Chia Chang, Ph.D. student,
Purdue chang970 at purdue dot edu |
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, Ph.D. student,
Purdue chen4803 at purdue dot edu |
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, M.S. student,
UMass Lowell stephen_misenti at student dot uml dot edu |
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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Undergraduate Students
Dilara Baysal
ME |
Russell Black
ME (major), ECE (minor) |
Andrew Donis
ME |
Brendan Duffy
ME |
Advait Jawaji
ME |
Leo Liu
ME |
Will Mortley
ME |
Past Members
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Three funded Ph.D. positions in legged robotics are available at the TRACE Lab in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023. 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, 2022 (for beginning Ph.D. study in Spring 2023)
- December 1, 2022 (for beginning Ph.D. study in Fall 2023)