Principal Investigator
Kaveh Akbari Hamed, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Virginia Tech
Email: kavehakbarihamed@vt.edu
Ruturaj Sambhus
Ph.D. Student
Vittorio Pastore
M.S. Student
Current Graduate Students
Graduate Students Alumni as Primary Advisor
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Basit Muhammad ImranAmanzadeh
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. Defense Date: September 2024
Co-advisor: Dr. Alex Leonessa
Email: basit@vt.edu
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Abhishek Pandala
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Robust Predictive Control for Legged Locomotion
Ph.D. Defense Date: December 2023
Email: agp19@vt.edu
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Jeeseop Kim
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Cooperative Locomotion of Quadrupedal Robots: From Supervisory Predictive Control to Distributed Control
Ph.D. Defense Date: August 2022
Email: jeeseop@vt.edu
Now Postdoctoral Researcher at Caltech (website)
Ivan Fischman Ekman Simoes
M. Eng.
Joseph Martin
M.S. Student
Mechanical Engineering
M.S. Defense date: October 2020
Email: josephbmartinv@vt.edu
Now Robotics Controls Engineer at Arrival (website)
Leila Amanzadeh
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Adaptive Predictive Controllers for Agile Quadrupedal Locomotion with Unknwon Payloads
Ph.D. Defense Date: July 2024
Co-advisor: Dr. Alex Leonessa
Email: leila7@vt.edu
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Randall T. Fawcett
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Hierarchical Control of Constrained Multi-Agent Legged Locomotion: A Data-Driven Approach
Ph.D. Defense Date: May 2023
Email: randallf@vt.edu
Now Associate at Exponent
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Vinay R. Kamidi
Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Distributed Feedback Control Algorithms for Cooperative Locomotion: From Bipedal to Quadrupedal Robots
Ph.D. Defense Date: March 2022
Email: vinay28@vt.edu
Now Sr. Software and Controls Engineer at Apptronik (website)
Randall T. Fawcett
M.S. Student
Mechanical Engineering
Thesis: Real-Time Planning and Nonlinear Control for Robust Quadrupedal Locomotion with Tails
M.S. Defense date: July 2021
Email: randallf@vt.edu
Loek J. Trimbach
International Visitor (M.S. Student), 01/2019-03/2019
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Email: l.j.trimbach@student.tue.nl
Visitors
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Former Undergraduate Students
Former K-12 Researchers
Prospective Students
We always look for motivated, talented graduate students from all over the world who wish to undertake Ph.D. research at the cutting edge of control theory, robotics, and machine learning. The desired candidates hold an MS or BS degree in Engineering (preferably ECE, ME, AE), (Applied) Mathematics, Computer science, or related fields. The candidates for these positions should have a strong background in mathematics, programming, and hardware, together with hands-on experience. In particular, we are interested in the following skills:
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Strong mathematical knowledge of control theory and robotics;
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Strong programming skills: C/C++, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, ROS, and Microcontrollers; and
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Implementing feedback control in hardware.
If interested, please e-mail Dr. Akbari Hamed with a 1) cover letter and 2) resume/CV as PDF attachments.