Worcester Polytechnic Institute to Hold Robotics Engineering Research Symposium

Worcester Polytechnic Institute to Hold Robotics Engineering Research Symposium  

“Launching to a Robotic Future” research symposium to celebrate the successes and innovation of WPI’s Robotics Engineering program

In celebration of more than a decade of robotics engineering innovation and excellence, WPI is holding a cutting-edge research symposium titled “Launching to a Robotic Future” on Oct. 22. The event will feature some of the most distinguished robotics researchers and members of the robotics industry from the United States, Europe, and Asia. A reception highlighting the inspiring history of the program will follow, showcasing the wide variety of robots and competition wins that have made WPI a leader in the robotics field.

Robotics is playing an increasingly crucial role in our daily lives; WPI responded to that need by creating an interdisciplinary robotics engineering program that is held up as a national model in higher education. In 2009, the Robotics Engineering program completed its progress from innovative concept to a fully realized program when the first cohort of students graduated with bachelor’s degrees in robotics engineering. The university later offered a master’s program in 2009 and a PhD program in 2011, attracting students worldwide. In 2016, the program’s work was recognized when it received the inaugural Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Innovation Award for “vision and commitment that challenges the status-quo in technical education.”

“Robotics Engineering was established to meet the needs of the future of work in educating the next generation of workers,” said Professor Jing Xiao, Director of Robotics Engineering at WPI. “Robots are here to assist humans so that they can have high-quality jobs and high-quality lives. Talented roboticists are performing tasks ranging from designing and building robot systems to researching human-robot collaboration. This symposium is a reflection of the greater robotics world, with WPI’s Robotics Engineering program leading the way in education and research.”

The “Launching to a Robotic Future” symposium will cover the most recent advances in robotics both in the world and at WPI, aiming to extend the horizon of robotics and increase WPI’s role in innovative robotics research and education with global impact. The evening reception will reflect the meteoric rise and continuing relevance of WPI’s place in robotics education. Together, this all-day event demonstrates and celebrates that robotics education and research are a necessary—and vibrant—part of our future.

WHO:

Keynote Speakers include:

Dr. Robert Howe, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Engineering, Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Dr. Wolfram Burgard, Vice President of Automated Driving Technology, Toyota Research Institute at Los Altos, Calif.; Professor at the University of Freiburg; President of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

Dr. Shiekegi Sugano, Professor and Dean of School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University

Dr. Al Rizzi, Chief Scientist, Boston Dynamics

Two Discussion Panels:

1. Robotics Research Directions and Applications
2. Integration of Research and Education

WHERE/WHEN:

Rubin Campus Center, Odeum 3rd Floor; Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, Mass.

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019

8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Website: www.wpi.edu/+RBEsymposium 

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. WPI offers more than 50 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 14 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology; robotics and the internet of things; advanced materials and manufacturing; cyber, data, and security systems; learning science; and more. www.wpi.edu

Contact:

Andy Baron, Associate Director of Public Relations

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, Massachusetts

508-831-5916, ajbaron@wpi.edu