About Me

I'm a Research Scientist in Computer Vision and Robotics at Toyota Research Institute.

My primary research interests lie in advancing the state of the art in AI, particularly machine perception, and I view robotics as the natural application of this desire. Because robots must operate in the physical word; they force computer vision approaches ground themselves in reality. 

My interest began when...

I took my first undergraduate AI course with Dr. Xiaojin Zhu at UW-Madison. From that moment on, I was hooked.

Dr. Xiaojin Zhu and his colleague, Dr. Charles Dyer, introduced me to the world of research; under them, I discovered my passion for computer vision and machine learning.

As a PhD student at Duke University, I discovered a third passion: robotics. During the course of my thesis work, I developed an object-centric perception system that enables robots to both better understand the world around them and better function in complicated environments (such as people's homes).

In my personal life...

I enjoy cooking, technology, and travel. I am fortunate to be married to the woman of my dreams who with a PhD in Biochemistry. When she's not making me feel intimidated by the sheer volume of dangerous things in her lab, one of our favorite pastimes is exploring new places and sampling new cuisines.