Research and Development Engineer

OBJECTIVE:
Research Engineer/Scientist position where strong analytical and hands-on skills in the development of innovative guidance, navigation, image processing, and control systems will benefit R & D efforts

EDUCATION:
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (Dec. •••••)
Concentration in Field Robotics and associated research aspects in advanced control theory, ground vehicle kinematics/dynamics, AI, image processing, statistical pattern recognition, nonlinear systems analysis, signal processing, soft-computing and its application to control and guidance of sensor-centric autonomous ground vehicles
Dissertation: Terrain Aided Localization of Autonomous Vehicles in Unstructured Environments

M.E. (Research), Systems Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (May •••••)
Concentration in digital real-time control of robotic manipulators including linear and nonlinear systems analysis and control, system identification and parameter estimation
Dissertation: Control of a Pendulum using Extended Kalman Filtering

B.E. (First Class Honors), Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Anna University, Madras, India (Jan. •••••)
Thesis: Control of a 4 DOF SCARA Robot


TECHNICAL SKILLS:
Extensive theoretical background and practical experience with guidance, navigation, image processing, and control schemes for unmanned ground and aerial vehicles in large complex, outdoor, highly unstructured environments
GPS/INS integration, sensor data fusion using estimation theoretic concepts (Kalman filtering, Bayesian)
Image processing and machine vision
Control systems design, simulation and implementation with both conventional and intelligent soft-computing tools
Computer skills (hardware/software integration, programming): Unix, Linux, Windows, Office suites, Matlab/Simulink, LabVIEW, Maple, LaTex, C, FORTRAN, Sun Solaris Workstation/Server


EXPERIENCE:
Natl. Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST) [A U.S. Dept. of Commerce R & D Lab.], Gaithersburg, MD
Guest Researcher at the Intelligent Systems Division [Apr. ••••• - present]

Developed and verified iterative registration algorithms and covariance analysis of the quality of registration for unmanned ground and aerial vehicles (UGV/UAVs) during GPS outages and other navigation sensor suite failures
Modeled and identified UGV kinematic vehicle and sensor models; developed and implemented moving object prediction and tracking algorithms via estimation theoretic techniques using both simulated and field trial data in a Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) environment (ModSAF)
Developed performance metrics using Bayesian entropy and mutual information concepts for quantifying sensor uncertainty towards information-centric unmanned navigation
Current research has resulted in several refereed publications (citations available on request)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) [A U.S. Dept. of Energy R & D Lab.], Oak Ridge, TN
Research Fellow at the Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research [Mar. ••••• Mar. •••••] •••••

Designed and implemented cooperative localization (using extended Kalman filtering) and vision-based terrain mapping scheme for an autonomous multiagent vehicle team by exploiting heterogeneity of on-board navigation sensors
Developed software codes for integrated visual guidance, navigation, and terrain mapping via sensor management, experimental evaluation and implementation of terrain aided navigation algorithms
Work resulted in several conference and journal publications (citations available on request)

University of Sydney, Australian Center for Field Robotics, Sydney, Australia
Automation Scholar and Navigation/Controls Designer [Aug. ••••• Dec. •••••]

Conducted R & D involving system integration for autonomous ground vehicles in unstructured and complex outdoor environments
Developed and implemented a real-time unified terrain aided localization framework for navigation of autonomous ground vehicles; experimental test-bed for my Ph.D. dissertation included three different vehicles (a ••••• ton Load-Haul-Dump truck, a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a utility truck) operating on a variety of unstructured domains
Modeled kinematics and dynamics of ground vehicles; developed feasible low-level and intelligent controls for autonomous navigation
Developed relevant controls/navigation software in MATLAB/C
Work resulted in several high quality refereed technical publications and two best paper awards (detailed citations available on request)

Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization, Brisbane, Australia
Research Staff Member [May ••••• - Jul. •••••]

Modeled and developed a Kalman filtering-based scheme for estimating the position of hoist ropes of draglines to develop a swing automation system

Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Control Systems Engineer [Apr. ••••• - Apr. •••••]

Development and implementation of numerically efficient state estimation and t•••••ectory tracking control of robotic manipulators via Volterra series approximations of the nonlinearities; digital control sampling and finite word-length considerations for sensor-based robotic control


HONORS/AWARDS:
Biography listed in Strathmore Whos Who (•••••), Americas Registry of Outstanding Professionals (•••••) and United Whos Who (•••••)
Elected Full Member of Sigma Xi (Jan. •••••) and Washington Academy of Sciences (Mar. •••••)
Invited Independent Judge for Robotics Competitions: Montgomery County Public Schools Career, Engg., and Technology Student Challenge (Mar. •••••), FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition (Dec. •••••)
Young Researcher Awards Registration Grant, Australian Research Council (Apr. •••••)
Best Paper Awards: Post-Graduate division winner of the IEEE Region ••••• (Asia and the Pacific) Student Paper Competition and Graduate division winner of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Outstanding Student Paper Contest (•••••)
Ph.D. Fellowship CRC for Mining Technology and Equipment (Aug. •••••Dec. •••••).
Master of Engineering (Research) Scholarship The Australian National University (Apr. •••••)
Numerous invited presentations; Reviewer of international journal and conference publications; Chair of sessions in various robotics and automation conferences

U.S. IMMIGRATION STATUS:
Resident Alien with Work Visa (H1B1) in the process of obtaining Green Card under EB1 (Extraordinary Ability) category