Team


Principal Investigator

Zhuoyuan Song

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Cooperating Graduate Faculty, Ocean and Resource Engineering
Email: zsong at hawaii.edu
Tel: (808) 956-0807
Office: Holmes Hall 202a
CV | LinkedIn | GitHub | @nicksongzy

Zhuoyuan Song received his M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2018) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida where his research foci included the localization of mobile robots in GPS-denied environments and decentralized control of multi-robot systems under strong influences of background flows. His research experience also includes prototyping and testing of autonomous underwater vehicles and developing visual guidance solutions for computation-limited mobile robots. In August 2018, he joined UH and founded the RAN LAb.


    Members

    Sachin Shriwastav

    Ph.D. Student, ME
    email: sachins@hawaii.edu

    • M.S. Indian Institute of Science
    • B.S. Tribhuvan University, Nepal

    Sachin received his MSc Engineering degree from the Department of Aerospace Engineering in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India with the award for the best MSc Eng (Research) thesis, and his BE degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. His research experience is in the field of wireless sensor networks, computer vision aided disaster management and multi-agent collaboration and control. He is currently working on dynamic compressed sensing and multi-UxV coordination and control.

    Jonathan Wallen

    Ph.D. Student, ME
    email: jwallen@hawaii.edu

    • B.S. University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
    • Kapiolani Community College

    Jonathan recieved an Associates Degree in engineering studies from Kappiolani Community College in 2017 and a Bachelors in mechanical engineering in 2019 from the University Of Hawaii at Manoa. His research focuses on robot localization and machine learning enabling robots to operate in dynamic environments. Jonathan also work on system design, manufacturing and assembly of robotic systems.

    Gregory Snyder

    M.S. Student, ME
    email: snyderg@hawaii.edu

    • B.S. Pennsylvania State University

    Gregory received his BS in Aerospace Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University at University Park in 2014. After working in aviation and tourism with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters on the Big Island for a couple years, he is returning to school to pursue a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests lie in the development of autonomous systems. In his free time, Gregory builds and flies quadcopters and RC airplanes.

    Josh Renzo Claudio

    M.S. Student
    email: jrc808@hawaii.edu

    • M.S. UH Manoa (EE)

    Lillian Marie Shibata

    Undergraduate Research Assistant, ME
    email: lshiba@hawaii.edu

    • Moanalua High School

    Lillian is a mechanical engineering undergraduate at UH-Manoa. Her past experience involves being a participant in UH-Manoa’s Hawaii’s Engaged STEM Pathways (HeSTEMP) program working with LiDAR and its application to autonomous motion and navigation aboard planetary rovers as well as various other engineering projects throughout her high school career. She is currently working on establishing communication between a LiDAR and Jetson for future implementation with autonomous vehicles.

    Constantine Peros

    Undergraduate Research Assistant
    email: cperos@hawaii.edu

    Patrick Ng

    Undergraduate Research Assistant
    email: png@hawaii.edu


    Alumni

    Maddyson Jeske (M.S. Student)

    Aug 2019 - Dec 2021
    Next position: Okahara and Associates, Inc.

    Maddy is in the accelerated MS program in mechanical engineering at UH-Manoa. She has knowledge in the marine world from involvement with the Surfrider Foundation and experience in Ocean Engineering by designing and building systems for the underwater environment. Her research interests include mechanical design in the marine environment including subsea applications, robotics, sustainability, and renewable energy.

    Chris Battista

    Sept 2020 - Sept 2021
    Next position: University of California, Berkeley

    Chris is a researcher, entrepreneur and former management consultant focused on intelligent systems research and development (R&D). He has delivered highly technical strategy and analytics projects to clients ranging from venture-funded startups to multibillion-dollar public entities. Chris is passionate about education equity, specifically in the scientific sector, and works with a number of nonprofit organizations in this area. With Dr. Song and colleagues in the RAN Lab, Chris worked on research problems at the intersection of robotic control and machine learning.

    Christopher Blake (B.S. Student)

    Jan 2020 - Dec 2020
    Next position: Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific

    Chris was an electrical engineering undergraduate student as well as a US Navy veteran. He transitioned from Kapiolani Community College to the University of Hawaii at Manoa after receiving two ASNS degrees in Engineering and Physical Sciences. His campus involvement includes a term as the President of Engineers for A Sustainable World at KCC and the Chair for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers student branch at Manoa. As a member of the RAN Lab, Chris worked on the development of an optical communication system for an underwater docking station.

    Curran Meek (M.S. Student)

    Aug 2018 - Dec 2019
    Next position: Booz Allen Hamilton

    Curran served as an Officer on a Nuclear Submarine for the past several years. He has now since transitioned out of the military to pursue a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. During his time in the Navy, he gained tremendous experience. Applying technical knowledge to run a nuclear reactor, as well as risk management and leadership skills while standing Officer of the Deck to safely navigate the submarine. This practical experience and his interest in robotics has lead him to begin research in robotic navigation.


    Former visitors and students

    Visitors

    Dr. Yen-Chen Liu (Jan - Feb 2020)
    Associate Professor
    National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

    Mr. Kartik Krishna (Feb 2020)
    Ph.D. Student
    University of Washington, Seattle

    Students

    Ms. Cindy Mo (Oct 2019 - Feb 2020)
    State Science Fair Mentee
    President Theodore Roosevelt High School

    Mr. Freddie Liang (Oct 2019 - Feb 2020)
    State Science Fair Mentee
    President Theodore Roosevelt High School