Work Experience
The AI Institute
Research Scientist
April 2023 - Present
Cambridge, MA

- Research on Agile Manipuation -- cool videos will come in time!
- Advising PhD Research Scientist Interns on projects regarding the fundamentals of robot manipulation


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Amazon Robotics AI
Applied Science Intern - Pick Team
September 2022 - March 2023
Berlin, Germany


Amazon Science Article

- Working on warehouse robot picking in confined spaces.
- Hardware and software implementations for picking thin and/or hard to 
   reach objects.
- Band separation planning and control for opening up bin space.



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Yale University
PhD Student - NSF Graduate Research Fellow
August 2017 - March 2023
Yale Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

- Please see Publications for a complete list of projects
- Brief List: Robot Manipulation, Dexterous Manipulation, Reinforcement Learning, (Self-) Supervised Learning, Optimal Control, Planning

Technische Universität Darmstadt
Visiting PhD Student (virtual internship due to COVID-19)
March 2020 - March 2021
TU Darmstadt - Intelligent Autonomous Systems
Technical Advisor: Prof. Jan Peters
Collaborators: Georgia Chalvatzaki, PhD., Carlo D'Eramo, PhD.,
and Daljeet Nandha


- Hybrid Model-Based control with Model-Free RL to accelerate  
  optimal policy acquisition (Model Predictive Actor-Critic)

- Optimal Control (MPC and MPPI) in OpenAI Gym
- Policy convergence exceed that of current state-of-the-art (Oct. 2020)

Youngstown Business Incubator
Biz3D Instructor
August 2016 - August 2017 (Summer Months)

- Facilitated learning at a summer camp for high school students 
- Taught students how 3D printing works and how it can be used to build a
   business
- Introduced concepts associated with solid modeling for product design 
  (123D Design and Fusion 360 were used)
- Developed a curriculum based on entrepreneurship

Auburn University
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the United States Department of Defense (DoD)
May 2016-July 2016
Auburn College of Engineering - Computer Science and Software Engineering

- Conducted research regarding unmanned UAV flight
- Analyzed given problems within the field, and constructed a
  literature review and research proposal
- Designed experiments that fulfilled requirements to help answer
  research questions
- Two main projects (please see Publications tab for more details)  
         - Ballistic Parachute Recovery System
                  - Helped maintain safety for UAV systems
           - Computer Vision Algorithms for See-and-Avoid applications
                  - Constructed a flight simulation software using OpenGL and
                    OpenCV to analyze collision avoidance algorithms.

Youngstown State University
Honors Engineering Teaching Assistant/Computer Lab Coordinator
August 2014-May 2017 
YSU College of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics 

- Aided students in the understanding of fundamentals learned
  throughout their coursework 
- Developed problems that required critical thinking to prepare 
   students for future courses 
- Assisted in the creation of the initiative to expose First Year 
   Engineering students to 3D Printing in 2014 and 2015 
- Acted as an Honors Ambassador for First Year STEM students to help 
   connect Honors College practices into coursework and service 
   projects on campus

ABB Inc. 
Test Engineer Co-operative Learning
May 2015-August 2015 
Research and Development - Power Systems Power Generation (PSPG)

- Tested ABB Power Systems and Power Generation (PSPG)
   modules and components for corresponding tasks of
   implementation 
- Constructed the largest test system ever built by the ABB
   Research and Development laboratory at the Wickliffe site 
- Organized and coordinated co-op fundraising for the WE CARE
   charity events to include Rainbow Babies Children’s Hospital
   and Woman’s Safe