Standing-room-only event was part of 91ĘÓƵ’s annual Research & Innovation Week held Oct. 14-18

The College of Engineering & Applied Science welcomed a packed audience to its Robotics Showcase on Oct. 17. The standing-room-only event, part of 91ĘÓƵ’s annual Research & Innovation Week, drew students, faculty and robotics enthusiasts, including middle and high school students and the general public, eager to explore the latest advancements in research shaping the future of the field.

The event emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of CU’s robotics research, showcasing collaborations across electrical, computer and energy engineering; mechanical engineering; aerospace engineering sciences; and computer science to tackle complex societal challenges. 

Attendees were treated to demonstrations of bio-inspired robots (Kaushik Jayaram and Nicole Xu), autonomous drone systems (Nisar Ahmed), robots with human-like dexterity (Nikolaus Correll), and robot skin technology (Alessandro Roncone), as well as Boston Dynamics’ Spot. The demos highlighted technologies poised to transform fields such as search and rescue, deep-sea exploration and industrial maintenance in challenging environments, while improving human-robot capabilities and interactions.

In addition to the research on display, CU Engineering introduced its new graduate degrees in robotics— two master’s programs (Master of Science in Robotics thesis option and Master of Science in Robotics nonthesis option) and a PhD in Robotics—launched in 2023. These programs offer students immersive, hands-on research opportunities that engage them with the technologies featured at the showcase, preparing them to lead in the evolving robotics landscape.

CU Engineering’s Research Support Office extends its thanks to all the participants who made the event a success. For more details, check out media coverage by the Boulder Daily Camera in the article” and Denver7’s,” which spotlight 91ĘÓƵ’s leadership in robotics research and innovation.

Showcase Highlights

The Robotics Showcase featured a range of innovative research that exemplifies 91ĘÓƵ’s interdisciplinary collaboration and commitment to addressing real-world problems. Highlights included:

• Shape-Morphing Insect-Scale Robots
  Kaushik Jayaram (ME, Robotics)
  Hari Hari Prasad presented insect-scale robots capable of changing shape to adapt to their environment. These shape-shifting systems demonstrate agility and adaptability, essential for real-world applications in challenging environments.

• Human-Centered Autonomy for Dynamic sUAS Target Search Operations
  Nisar Ahmed (AERO, Robotics)
  Hunter Ray demonstrated advances in autonomous drone systems that enhance collaboration with human operators. These drones are designed for search and rescue missions, leveraging real-time data from operators to improve decision-making.

• Open World Manipulation
  Nikolaus Correll (CS, Robotics)
  William Xie demonstrated robots with human-like dexterity, integrating sensors, actuators, and communication capabilities into composite materials to create robots that mimic the functionality of muscles, skin, and bones.

• Bioinspired and Biohybrid Robotics
  Nicole Xu (ME, Robotics)
  Yunxing Su demonstrated research on aquatic robots for environmental monitoring. These robots combine natural and engineered designs to create energy-efficient, maneuverable systems for tracking climate change.

• Robot Skin and Dynamic Human-Robot Interaction
  Alessandro Roncone (CS, Robotics)
  Dusty Woods, Caleb Escobedo and Claire Lohrmann demonstrated robot skin technology that enhances human-robot interactions. These modular sensor units, placed on robot manipulators, enable robots to safely and intuitively respond to external contact.

• NSF IUCRC Center for Aerial Autonomy, Mobility, and Sensing (CAAMS)
  Zachary Sunberg (AERO, Robotics)
  Sunberg’s lab demonstrated autonomous drones in wilderness search and rescue operations. By integrating human operators into the decision-making process, these drones improve the efficiency and safety of missions in remote environments.

Off

Off

The Brooke Owens Fellowship Program is a highly competitive, paid internship and mentorship program designed to honor the memory of Brooke Owens, a space industry pioneer and accomplished pilot. Owens’ career took her to NASA, the X-Prize Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the White House. Her enthusiasm and passion for aerospace led friends and colleagues to create a foundation to inspire and train exceptional undergraduate women with the same zeal for space exploration.

Getting to peek at a nebula through an observatory telescope can be an awe-inspiring experience. For Kaitlin Engelbert, it did not just give her a sense of wonder, it also provided a college major – astrophysics and planetary science. Engelbert credits the development of her passion for astronomy to a high school teacher who led field trips to 91ĘÓƵ’s Sommers-Bausch Observatory. “We observed the Orion Nebula through the telescopes, and I fell in love with the night sky instantly,” Engelbert says, adding that she has always been curious and wondered why things happen. She is supplementing her major with a minor in communications, focusing on public relations, and a certificate in teaching. Engelbert hopes to do educational and public outreach for a space corporation, inspiring others who want to become a part of the industry. Her fellowship will be spent at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

What makes you a space buff?
I’m a Space Buff because I strive to be a part of the movement that inspires students and the public to involve themselves within the aerospace industry.

What is your favorite 91ĘÓƵ aerospace memory?
As a learning assistant for an introductory astronomy class, I had students come up to me and thank them for inspiring them to join the aerospace industry!

Christine Reilly has been excited about space ever since she took an online NASA class for high school students. Now a 91ĘÓƵ junior, her enthusiasm only continues to grow, and she has thrown herself fully into her chosen major. In addition to her course load, Reilly worked at the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, took part in an international math competition, and last year held a Discovery Learning Apprenticeship in Professor Hanspeter Schaub’s Autonomous Vehicle Systems laboratory. This summer brings an all-new challenge. As a Brooke Owens Fellow, Reilly will intern with Virgin Galactic. She will be diving into the world of propulsion for the LauncherOne project, which will shoot satellites into space from a flying Boeing 747. As someone who is especially interested in the still-new field of space startups, it is exactly where she wants to be.

What makes you a space buff?
I like innovation, and doing things that haven’t been done before. It’s also romantic, the idea of humans going off into space on an adventure.

What is your favorite 91ĘÓƵ aerospace memory?
While working for the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, I set up and operated a mobile tracking station in a chase vehicle for a high altitude balloon launch. My projects class had our "BalloonSat" payloads flying on the balloon, and I was able to help direct a convoy of classmates to the landing site to recover our experiments. 

Is your head in the clouds? You have good company in senior aerospace student Amanda Turk. She has been high flying since arriving at 91ĘÓƵ in 2013, first by joining the Design, Build, Fly competition and later through research work with unmanned quadcopters and planes. Now this aspiring engineer is hoping for the real thing: a pilot’s license. As a Colorado native, Turk will not need to fly far for her internship as a Brooke Owens Fellow. She has been placed with Louisville-based Sierra Nevada Space Systems. It is an exciting prospect for her, to see the industry from the inside as aerospace companies like Sierra Nevada shake up the field. Turk is particularly drawn to the enduring nature of space technology systems. Just as Apollo program engineers built upon the legacy of 1940s rocket designers, she hopes to one day serve as an inspiration of her own to a next generation of aerospace engineers.

What makes you a space buff?
I am really psyched abut manned space exploration. It is work that will progress humanity. At some point, we will need to find a place for humans to live beyond Earth.

What is your favorite 91ĘÓƵ aerospace memory?
I have been working on campus at the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles and have had hands-on experience with numerous aircraft, as part of a flight crew chasing tornadoes and a flight-test engineer, most notably. I’ve been lucky to work with such amazing faculty and friends along the way. 

Off

Off