Current WPI Students
We often have many positions available in the lab for interested BS and MS students. You can volunteer to help on a project, attend lab meetings, or establish a more formal role such as an MQP, DR, capstone, or thesis.
To get involved, learn about some of the work we are doing in the lab, especially by reading some of our recent publications or talking to current members. If you are interested in what we are doing, reach out about getting involved. Thank about what interests you about our work, questions you have about it, new questions it raises for you, or ideas you have for extending or improving it. And please be prepared to tell us what you’d like to get out of working with us.
PhD Applicants
The Automata Lab is not actively seeking PhD students at this time.
How to Apply:
Applications should be submitted through WPI’s application portal in Robotics Engineering. You should specifically mention your desire to work with Prof. Leahy in the Automata Lab in your application. Please include a description of your specific research interests and experience, and how they align with the research in the Automata Lab.
Research Areas
Our work focuses on making intelligent robots that are able to make intelligent, reliable decisions with limited human input. Research areas include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Formal methods for planning and control
- Planning and coordination for large heterogeneous teams
- Safe control with machine learning in the loop
- Correct-by-construction techniques for reinforcement learning
- Human-robot interaction with formal specifications
- Graph neural networks for distributed multi-agent control
- Verifiable machine learning for perception
Qualifications
- BS or MS degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or closely related field
- Strong track record in mathematics, algorithms, control theory, and/or machine learning
- Engineering skills including scientific programming languages, ROS/ROS2
- Passion for robotics and problem solving
PhD in Robotics at WPI
The Robotics Department at WPI is one of only a few such departments worldwide that grants PhDs in Robotics. It is located in Worcester, MA, the second most populous city in Massachusetts, about 40 miles west of Boston. WPI offers competitive stipends, health insurance, and a Graduate Workers Union.