Frank Hammond III

Frank  Hammond III
frank.hammond@me.gatech.edu

Frank L. Hammond III joined George W. Woodruff George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering in April 2015. Prior to this appointment, he was a postdoctoral research affiliate and instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and a Ford postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in 2010 from Carnegie Mellon University.

Assistant Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering
Director, The Adaptation Robotic Manipulation Laboratory
Phone
404.385.4208
Office
UA Whitaker Room 4102
Additional Research

Hammond's research focuses on the design and control of adaptive robotic manipulation (ARM) systems. This class of devices exemplified by kinematic structures, actuation topologies, and sensing and control strategies that make them particularly well-suited to operating in unstructured, dynamically varying environments - specifically those involving cooperative interactions with humans. The ARM device design process uses an amalgamation of bioinspiration, computational modeling and optimization, and advanced rapid prototyping techniques to generate manipulation solutions which are functionally robust and versatile, but which may take completely non-biomorphic (xenomorphic) forms. This design process removes human intuition from the design loop and, instead, leverages computational methods to map salient characteristics of biological manipulation and perception onto a vast robotics design space. Areas of interest for ARM research include kinematically redundant industrial manipulation, wearable robotic devices for human augmentation, haptic-enabled teleoperative robotic microsurgery, and autonomous soft robotic platforms.

IRI and Role
Bioengineering and Bioscience > Faculty
Robotics > Core Faculty
Robotics
Bioengineering and Bioscience
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Engineering > Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Matthew Hale

Matthew Hale
mhale30@gatech.edu

Matthew Hale joined the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech as an Associate Professor in the spring of 2024. His research interests include multi-agent control and optimization, deceptive decision-making, and applications of these methods to drones and other robots. He has received the NSF CAREER Award, ONR YIP, and AFOSR YIP. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Matthew was Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He received his BSE from the University of Pennsylvania, and he received his MS and PhD from Georgia Tech.

Associate Professor
Additional Research

Asynchronous network coordination Graph theory in multi-agent systems.Privacy in control 

IRI and Role
Robotics > Core Faculty
Robotics
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Engineering > School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Brian Gunter

Brian Gunter
brian.gunter@ae.gatech.edu

Dr. Gunter is an Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Rice University, and later his M.S. and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in orbital mechanics. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Dr. Gunter was on the faculty of the Delft University of Technology (TU-Delft) in the Netherlands, as a member of the Physical and Space Geodesy section. His research activities involve various aspects of spacecraft missions and their applications, such as investigations into current and future laser altimetry missions, monitoring changes in the polar ice sheets using satellite data, applications of satellite constellations/formations, and topics surrounding kinematic orbit determination. He has been responsible for both undergraduate and graduate courses on topics such as satellite orbit determination, Earth and planetary observation, scientific applications of GPS, and space systems design. He is currently a member of the AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committee, and also serves as the Geodesy chair for the Fall AGU Meeting Program Committee. He has received a NASA group achievement award for his work on the GRACE mission, and he is also a former recipient of a NASA Earth System Science Graduate Fellowship. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the International Association of Geodesy (IAG).

Associate Professor
Phone
404.385.2345
Office
ESM 205
Additional Research

satellite geodesy; space systems; orbital mechanics; Earth and planetary observation; remote sensing

IRI and Role
Sustainable Systems > Fellow
Robotics > Core Faculty
Matter and Systems > Affiliated Faculty
Robotics
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Engineering > Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
Research Areas
Sustainable Systems
  • Ecosystem and Environmental Health
Matter and Systems
  • Computing and Communication Technologies

Beki Grinter

Beki Grinter
beki@cc.gatech.edu

Rebecca "Beki" Grinter is a Professor of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing & (by courtesy) the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on improving the experience of computing by understanding the human experience in the building and using of technologies. Her work contributes to the fields of human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, and computer supported cooperative work. She has also worked in the areas of robotics, networking, security, and software engineering. She has published over 80 scholarly articles, served as Papers Chair (2006) & Best Papers Chair (2010) for the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the premier conference for human-computer interaction. In 2013 she was elected to the CHI Academy. In 2010 she was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna of the University of California, Irvine. Before joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, she was a Member of Research Staff in the Computer Science Laboratory of Xerox PARC and a Member of Technical Staff in the Software Production Research Department of Bell Laboratories. She was also a visiting scholar at Rank Xerox EuroPARC. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Information and Computer Science both from the University of California, Irvine, and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Leeds. Affiliations GVU Center

Professor; School of Interactive Computing
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Office
GVU Center
Additional Research

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW); Human Computer Interaction (HCI); Ubiquitous Computing

IRI and Role
Data Engineering and Science > Affiliated Faculty
People and Technology > Affiliated Faculty
Robotics > Affiliated Faculty
Data Engineering and Science
People and Technology
Robotics
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Computing > School of Interactive Computing

Gary Gray

Gary Gray
gary.gray@gtri.gatech.edu
Research Scientist; Georgia Tech Research Institute
Additional Research

Autonomy

IRI and Role
Robotics > Affiliate
Robotics
GTRI
Geogia Tech Research Institute > Aerospace, Transportation & Advanced Systems Laboratory

Nancey Green Leigh

Nancey Green Leigh
ngleigh@design.gatech.edu

Nancey Green Leigh is a Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning and adviser for the economic development planning, working with masters and doctoral students. Maintaining an active research program, Leigh is currently leading a project entitled "Workers, Firms and Industries in Robotic Regions," funded by the National Science Foundation's Robotics Initiative. She previously led a large scale research effort by three universities focused on sustainable industrial systems for urban regions. Both of these efforts as well as other funded research (brownfields, urban land and manufacturing, resilient infrastructure) contribute to Leigh's long term focus on advancing sustainable development for local and regional economies. As Associate Dean for Research, Leigh is focused on strengthening the research impact of the College of Design. She develops and administers competitive initiatives to support individual and collaborative research by college faculty and affiliated researchers. She oversees the college's seven major research units. She also is engaged in building research connections within Georgia Tech between the College of Design, other colleges and Interdisciplinary Research Institutes, as well as to external funders and collaborators in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Leigh has published more than 60 articles and four books, Routledge Handbook of International Planning Education (2019 with S.P. French, S. Guhathakurta, and B. Stiftel), Planning Local Economic Development, 6th edition (2017 with E.J. Blakely) adopted for courses in a wide array of universities; Economic Revitalization: Cases and Strategies for City and Suburb (2002 with J. Fitzgerald); and Stemming Middle Class Decline: The Challenge to Economic Development Planning (1994). She was co-editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research from 2012 to 2016, and was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2008.

Professor; School of City & Regional Planning
Associate Dean for Research; College of Design
Phone
404.894.9839
Office
Architecture-East Building, 209
Additional Research

economic development; robots & AI impact on workers; firms & regions; City and Regional Planning; System Design & Optimization; Design Sciences

IRI and Role
Data Engineering and Science > Affiliated Faculty
Robotics > Core Faculty
Energy > Research Community
Data Engineering and Science
Robotics
Energy
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Design

Matthew Gombolay

Matthew Gombolay
matthew.gombolay@cc.gatech.edu

Dr. Matthew Gombolay is the Anne and Alan Taetle Assistant Professor of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in 2011, a S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 2013, and a Ph.D. in Autonomous Systems from MIT in 2017. Gombolay's research interests span robotics, AI/ML, human-robot interaction, and operations research. Between defending his dissertation and joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, Gombolay served as a technical staff member at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory transitioning his research for the U.S. Navy, earning him an R&D 100 Award for his development of "Human-Machine Collaborative Optimization via Apprenticeship Scheduling" (COVAS). His publication record includes a best paper award from American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and he was selected as a DARPA Riser in 2018. Dr. Gombolay's research has been highlighted in media outlets such as CNN, PBS, NBC, CBS, Harvard Business Review, Gizmodo, and national public radio

Anne & Alan Taetle Assistant Professor; School of Interactive Computing
Additional Research

Robotics; Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Human-Robot Interaction

IRI and Role
People and Technology > Affiliated Faculty
Robotics > Core Faculty
People and Technology
Robotics
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Computing > School of Interactive Computing

Daniel Goldman

Daniel Goldman
dgoldman3@gatech.edu

My research integrates my work in complex fluids and granular media and the biomechanics of locomotion of organisms and robots to address problems in nonequilibrium systems that involve interaction of matter with complex media. For example, how do organisms like lizards, crabs, and cockroaches cope with locomotion on complex terrestrial substrates (e.g. sand, bark, leaves, and grass). I seek to discover how biological locomotion on challenging terrain results from the nonlinear, many degree of freedom interaction of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems of organisms with materials with complex physical behavior. The study of novel biological and physical interactions with complex media can lead to the discovery of principles that govern the physics of the media. My approach is to integrate laboratory and field studies of organism biomechanics with systematic laboratory studies of physics of the substrates, as well as to create mathematical and physical (robot) models of both organism and substrate. Discovery of the principles of locomotion on such materials will enhance robot agility on such substrates

Dunn Family Professor; School of Physics
Director; Complex Rheology And Biomechanics (CRAB) Lab
Phone
404.894.0993
Office
Howey C202
Additional Research

biomechanics; neuromechanics; granular media; robotics; robophysics

IRI and Role
Bioengineering and Bioscience > Faculty
Robotics > Core Faculty
Robotics
Bioengineering and Bioscience
Matter and Systems > Affiliated Faculty
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Sciences > School of Physics
Research Areas
Matter and Systems
  • Computing and Communication Technologies
  • Frontiers in Infrastructure

Animesh Garg

Animesh Garg
animesh.garg@gatech.edu

Animesh Garg is a Stephen Fleming Early Career Assistant Professor at School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. He leads the People, AI, and Robotics (PAIR) research group. He is on the core faculty in the Robotics and Machine Learning programs. Animesh is also a Senior Researcher at Nvidia Research. Animesh earned a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and was a postdoc at the Stanford AI Lab. He is on leave from the department of Computer Science at University of Toronto and CIFAR Chair position at the Vector Institute.

Garg earned his M.S. in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Operations Research from UC, Berkeley. He worked with Ken Goldberg at Berkeley AI Research (BAIR). He also worked closely with Pieter Abbeel, Alper Atamturk & UCSF Radiation Oncology. Animesh was later a postdoc at Stanford AI Lab with Fei-Fei Li and Silvio Savarese.

Garg's research vision is to build the Algorithmic Foundations for Generalizable Autonomy, that enables robots to acquire skills, at both cognitive & dexterous levels, and to seamlessly interact & collaborate with humans in novel environments. His group focuses on understanding structured inductive biases and causality on a quest for general-purpose embodied intelligence that learns from imprecise information and achieves flexibility & efficiency of human reasoning.

Assistant Professor
Additional Research

Robot Learning3D Vision and Video ModelsCausal InferenceReinforcement LearningCurrent Applications: Mobile-Manipulation in Retail/Warehouse, personal, and surgical robotics

IRI and Role
People and Technology > Affiliated Faculty
Robotics > Core
People and Technology
Robotics
Matter and Systems > Affiliated Faculty
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Computing > School of Computer Science
Research Areas
Matter and Systems
  • Frontiers in Infrastructure

Lu Gan

Lu Gan
lgan@gatech.edu

Lu Gan joined the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor in January 2024. She leads the Lu's Navigation and Autonomous Robotics (Lunar) Lab at Georgia Tech, and is on the core faculty of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. Her research interests include robot perception, robot learning, and autonomous navigation. Her group explores the use of computer vision, machine learning, estimation, probabilistic inference, kinematics and dynamics to develop autonomous systems in ground, air, and space applications.

She holds a B.S. in Automation from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, an M.S. in Control Engineering from Beihang University, and received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Robotics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Before joining Georgia Tech, she had a two-year appointment as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology and the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies at Caltech.

Assistant Professor - School of Aerospace Engineering
Office
Guggenheim 448A
Additional Research

Computer VisionPerception & NavigationRobot AutonomyFlight Mechanics & ControlsHuman-Robot Interaction

IRI and Role
Data Engineering and Science > Faculty
Robotics > Core
Data Engineering and Science
Robotics
University, College, and School/Department
Georgia Institute of Technology > College of Engineering > Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering