Monroe Kennedy III

Bio

Monroe Kennedy III is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. 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
• 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)

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 (6)
  • Engineering Problems
    ME 391 (Aut, Win)
  • Engineering Problems and Experimental Investigation
    ME 191 (Aut, Win)
  • Experimental Investigation of Engineering Problems
    ME 392 (Aut)
  • Ph.D. Research Rotation
    ME 398 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Problems in Aero/Astro
    AA 290 (Aut, Win)
  • 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)
  Alex Gruebele, Benoit Landry, Maneekwan Toyungyernsub
• Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
  Wilson Ruotolo
• Master's Program Advisor
  Gabriela Bravo Illanes, Derek Knowles, Albert Li, Andrew Low, Tianheng Shi, Kexin Weng, Wentao Zhong
• Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
  Nathan Spielberg, Maneekwan Toyungyernsub
• Doctoral (Program)
  Nicholas Broadbent, William Chong, Won Kyung Do, Shivani Guptasarma, Eley Ng