MAGE Alumnus Adarsh Sathyamoorthy Earns 2024 ECE Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship

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Adarsh Sathyamoorthy, an alumnus of Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering (MAGE) with a Master of Engineering in Robotics, recently received the 2024 ECE Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship Award. This award, given by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, honors students for exemplary dissertation work, acknowledging both their research excellence and their contribution to the field. Sathyamoorthy’s research, which he developed over several years, stands out for its novel approach to autonomous robot navigation in both indoor and outdoor environments.

In his dissertation, Sathyamoorthy focused on addressing critical challenges that mobile robots face in navigating real-world settings. His work emphasized how robots could safely move through dense crowds indoors, factoring in the behaviors of people in groups to improve navigational decision-making. For outdoor environments, Sathyamoorthy’s research enabled robots to perceive and adapt to complex terrains, even accounting for pliable vegetation like tall grass. “If you’ve seen the yellow dog robot walking around campus, that’s us,” he remarked, highlighting his hands-on, practical contributions to robotic mobility.

Sathyamoorthy credits much of his success to his advisor, Dr. Dinesh Manocha, and the collaborative spirit of his lab colleagues. Reflecting on his journey, he expressed deep gratitude for the guidance and support he received, stating that each project was a “collaborative effort.” Since earning his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering over the summer, Sathyamoorthy has started working with friends at Inception Robotics, a startup located in UMD’s Herbert Rabin Technology Advancement Building. His team is dedicated to developing tools that accelerate the advancement of mobile robot autonomy, a field that he is passionate about shaping for the future.

Published November 20, 2024