Hi, I’m Ben.

Robotics Engineer | University of Pennsylvania, The Cooper Union

I’m a second-year Master’s student in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Mechatronic and Robotic Systems. I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union in 2024, where I also minored in Computer Science.

I’m interested in control theory, path planning, and data-driven techniques. I am well versed in optimization algorithms for optimal control and state estimation, as well as in modern machine learning methodologies. More recently, I have also been exploring guidance, navigation, and control, with a particular interest in aerospace applications.

My broader research goal is to develop algorithms with rigorous guarantees that ensure the safe and efficient operation of robots, which is becoming increasingly important with the rise of learning-based robotics.

At Penn I conduct research in the Sung Robotics Lab, part of Penn Engineering’s GRASP Lab, where I work on path planning for the NASA-funded TRUSSES lunar robotics project under the guidance of Dr. Cynthia Sung and Dr. Daniel Koditschek.

Looking ahead, I’m applying to PhD programs this fall to further my work on safe and reliable robotics.

I’m also passionate about music — I play the piano/keyboard from time to time and my record collection is growing at an unexpectedly rapid rate.