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News about the Michigan Robotics community
Robotics Department honors faculty and staff efforts in 2024
February 6, 2025
The department recognizes Kayla Dombrowski, Brent Gillespie, and Renay Hutchings for their work over the past year improving the department's culture and operations.
A smaller, simpler bipedal robot student project
November 11, 2024
A 3D-printed bipedal robot inspired by the design of a commercial-scale robot aims to provide an open-source platform for studying and applying reinforcement learning.
Diversifying robotics with a one-of-a-kind collaborative teaching model
October 23, 2024
Toyota Research Institute and Amazon help fund the hybrid program that partners with Minority-Serving Institutions.
What are specific faculty looking for in PhD applications?
September 25, 2024
We asked faculty what they look for in an applicant. Here are their responses.
College robots, tweaked with Scratch, inspire younger students
September 23, 2024
Brody Riopelle recently proved that MBots, an educational robotics platform designed for teaching robotics to college students, could be simplified to introduce younger students without any programming knowledge to robotics.
Robotics Outreach Ambassadors of 2024
September 10, 2024
We encourage community outreach among our students by recognizing those who have gone above and beyond. In a new milestone since launching the program in 2021, this year's ambassadors collectively logged over 1000 hours of community service.
Community-powered interactive robotics art project
September 5, 2024
A new department has a dynamic culture, unfettered by tradition and able to adapt to the needs of its community and society. But, it also raises the question of how the individuals who make up the department see themselves, and the department as a whole.
New faculty joining Michigan Robotics
June 27, 2024
The Robotics Department at the University of Michigan thrives on the principle that collaboration multiplies the quality and impact of our work, and we’re excited to announce new faculty who each bring their own teaching and research expertise to the program.
Katherine Skinner awarded NSF CAREER grant
June 14, 2024
Katie Skinner was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant for a project “to provide new capabilities for marine robotic systems to map, visualize, and navigate underwater sites autonomously.
Nima Fazeli awarded NSF CAREER grant
June 7, 2024
Nima Fazeli, assistant professor of robotics, was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant for a project “to realize intelligent and dexterous robots that seamlessly integrate vision and touch.
Autonomous aquarium: robotic fish swim for social impact
May 23, 2024
Three University of Michigan students engineered a robotic school of fish prototype, named Swarm Fish, as part of their class project in ROB 203: Robotics Mechanisms.
First Black woman to earn U-M Robotics PhD speaks at commencement
May 4, 2024
Wami Ogunbi opens up about the importance of advocates and mentors in enabling her to achieve—and delivers a message about the importance of inclusion.