My research is focused on how to achieve superior performance and long term autonomy in multi-robot systems that address critical societal needs, from automated construction to precision agriculture. The major focus of my lab is on how to leverage the ideas of swarm intelligence and form and function in biology to produce capable, error tolerant, and adaptable robotic systems, through hardware and software co-development and by integrating the environment into the design process. We further develop new technologies to study social insects for added insights. Our current topic areas span soft and rigid robot collectives, smart and active materials, and bio-hybrid swarms.
Awards and Achievements
- Elected Fellowed of the Elisabeth Schiemann Fellow, Max Planck Gesellschaft ( 2016 - ongoing)
- Research ranked 4th in Science Magazine's Top 10 Scientific Achievements of 2014 ( 2014)
- On Robohub's list of "25 Amazing Women in Robotics to Know in 2018" ( 2018)
- Early Career Faculty Champion Award, Cornell Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement ( 2018)