Group Members
If you are interested in joining our lab as an undergraduate or masters student, please fill out this form. !
Jump to faculty, graduate students, undergradaute students, alumni.
Faculty
Doctoral Students
Master Students
Undergraduate Students
Openings
PhD Student in Soft Robotics
The Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University (ASU), invites applications for a fully-funded PhD position starting in Spring 2026 or Fall 2026. The applicant should have a BS or MS degree in mechanical engineering, computer science, or a related field. The project is at the intersection of control systems, robot learning, and soft robotics. Self-motivated students with a strong background in one or more of the following disciplines are encouraged to apply:
- Dynamic modeling and control of soft robots
- Design optimization, fabrication, and integration of soft robotic actuators
- Reinforcement learning, motion planning, and human-in-the-loop optimization
The successful candidates will have opportunities to conduct both analytical and hands-on research, publish papers in professional journals, make presentations at major academic conferences, and serve as mentors for undergraduate research projects. Evidence of abilities to work in collaborative teams and good communication skills (oral and written) is essential.
Postdoctoral Researcher
The Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University (ASU), invites applications for an open postdoctoral researcher position, with the earliest start date being January 2026. Initial appointment will be for one year, which may be renewed pending satisfactory performance and availability of funding. The applicant should have a PhD degree in mechanical engineering, computer science, or a related field.
The successful candidate will have opportunities to work on design, planning, and control of soft robots in various applications, such as walking assistance, in-pipe inspection, and aerial monitoring and manipulation. We are looking for candidates with a strong background in one or more areas: 1) robot modeling and planning in contact-rich settings, 2) dynamic modeling and high-fidelity simulation of soft robots, and 3) physics-informed machine learning in robot modeling and control.
Alumni
Doctoral Students
Dr. Sunny Amatya, Fall 2024; now R&D Engineer at FANUC America Corporation
Dr. S. Mostafa Rezayat Sorkhabadi, Fall 2023; now R&D Mechatronic Engineer at Siemens Healthineers
Dr. Zhi Qiao, Fall 2023; .
Dr. Emiliano Quinones Yumbla, Summer 2023; now faculty at University of Puerto Rico, Carolina
Dr. Karishma Patnaik, Spring 2023; now faculty at University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dr. Shatadal Mishra, Summer 2021; now systems research scientist at Toyota InfoTech R&D Labs
Dr. Yiwei Wang, Spring 2021; now faculty at Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Dr. Pham Huy Nguyen, Spring 2020; now postdoctoral research associate at EPFL
Dr. Saivimal Sridar, Spring 2020; now research engineer at Ottobock Global Research
Dr. Prudhvi Tej Chinimilli, Fall 2018 (co-chaired with Prof. Sangram Redkar); now co-founder and CTO at Zooly Labs
Master Students (thesis option)
Yogesh Kumar, Fa24, now at ASU
Harinee Kannan, Sp24, now at Freeport-McMoRan
Madelyn Molnar, Sp24, now at Southwest Research Institute
Jahnav Rokalaboina, Su23, now PhD student at ASU
Aravind Adhith P.S., Sp23, now at Komatsu Mining
Qinchen Zha, Sp23
Reed Axman, Sp22, now at MathWorks
Kyle Stewart, Sp22, now at Applied Medical
Danish Faraaz Syed, Su21, now at Foxconn Industrial Internet
Ibrahim Hasan, Su21, now PhD student at KTH
Mason Smith, Sp21, now PhD student at ASU
Pallavi Shintre, Fa20, now at Honeywell
Shubham Turakhia, Fa20, now at Automotus
Hansol Moon, Sp20, now at ASML
Jonathan Bush (w/ Dr. Heinrichs), Sp20, now PhD student at ASU
Kashyap Sathyamurthy, Sp20, now at Volansi
Souvik Poddar, Sp20, now PhD student at SUNY Buffalo
Francisco Javier Lopez Arellano (w/ Prof. Santello), Sp19
Rebecca Bell, Sp19
Karthik Kambam (w/Prof. Nedich), Fa18, now at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories
Vaibhav Jhawar, Su18
Mostafa Rezayat, Su18
Bachelor Students (honor’s thesis)
Nicholas Rocchi, Spring 2024
Sruti Ganti, Spring 2023
Jose Nacias, Matthew Downey, and Edward Goldenberg, Spring 2021
Sam Seidel, Spring 2020
Colton Van Hazel, Spring 2020
Marcus Schaller, Fall 2019
Jose Luis Rivera, Spring 2019
Daniel Gaytan-Jenkins, Spring 2019
Jonathan Bush, Spring 2019
Breanna Holmes, Spring 2018
