Monroe Kennedy III

Bio

Monroe Kennedy III is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, with a courtesy appointment in Computer Science. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and a Masters in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a recipient of both the NSF and GEM graduate research fellowships. His area of expertise is in robotics, specifically the development of theoretical and experimental approaches to perform control and estimation for robotic systems, in particular, robotic manipulation and human-robot collaborative tasks. He applies expertise in dynamical systems analysis, control theory (classical, non-linear and robust control), state estimation and prediction, motion planning, vision for robotic autonomy, and machine learning.

He is the director of the Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Lab (ARMLab) whose broad research objective is to develop technology that improves everyday life by anticipating and acting on the needs of human counterparts. ARMLab specializes in developing intelligent robotic systems that can perceive and model environments, humans and tasks and leverage these models to predict system processes and understand their assistive role. The research can be divided into the following sub-categories: robotic assistants, connected devices and intelligent wearables. ARMLab research requires the use of a combination of tools in dynamical systems analysis, control theory (classical, non-linear and robust control), state estimation and prediction, motion planning, vision for robotic autonomy and machine learning. ARMLab focuses heavily on both the analytical and experimental components of assistive technology design. While the application area domain is autonomous assistive technology, the primary focus is robotic assistants (mobile manipulators and humanoids) with the goal of deployment for service tasks that may be highly dynamic and require dexterity, situational awareness, and human-robot collaboration.

Academic Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Assistant Professor (By courtesy), Computer Science
• Member, Bio-X
• Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)

Honors & Awards

• Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2013-2018)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2015 - Present)
• Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2016 - Present)

Program Affiliations

• Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS)
• Stanford SystemX Alliance

Professional Education

• PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (2019)
• MS, University of Pennsylvania, Robotics (2016)
• BS, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Mechanical Engineering (2012)

2020-21 Courses

• Advanced Dynamics, Controls and System Identification
  ME 334 (Spr)
• Dynamics
  ENGR 15 (Aut)
• Independent Studies (9)
  • Engineering Problems
    ME 391 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Engineering Problems and Experimental Investigation
    ME 191 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Experimental Investigation of Engineering Problems
    ME 392 (Aut, Spr, Sum)
  • Ph.D. Research Rotation
    ME 398 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Ph.D. Teaching Experience
    ME 491 (Spr)
  • Practical Training
    ME 299A (Sum)
  • Practical Training
    ME 299B (Sum)
  • Problems in Aero/Astro
    AA 290 (Aut, Win, Spr)
  • Problems in Aero/Astro
    AA 290S (Sum)
• Prior Year Courses

  2019-20 Courses

  • Advanced Dynamics, Controls and System Identification
    ME 334 (Spr)

Stanford Advisees

• Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
  Wilson Ruotolo, Maneekwan Toyungyernsub, Shenli Yuan
• Orals Chair
  Joseph Lorenzetti, Xiaobai Ma, Haruki Nishimura, Adam Wiktor
• Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
  Derek Knowles, Nathan Spielberg, Maneekwan Toyungyernsub
• Master's Program Advisor
  Derek Knowles, Andrew Low, Jeff Nolte, Tianheng Shi, Kexin Weng
• Doctoral (Program)
  Nicholas Broadbent, William Chong, Won Kyung Do, Shivani Guptasarma, Eley Ng