Rachel Holladay

Rachel Holladay is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) Department at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science, with an anticipated start date of Fall 2025. She will hold the Asness Family Foundation Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering title and join the prestigious GRASP Laboratory as a key faculty member.

• Education:
  • B.S. in Computer Science and Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University (2017)
  • Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT (2024)

Her research focuses on enabling robots to execute complex, contact-rich manipulation tasks requiring long-horizon planning and robustness against partial or uncertain information. Key areas include:

• Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Control Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science

Her publication record demonstrates expertise in:

• Mechanics-based manipulation planning
• Soft robotics and compliant grasping
• Task and motion planning integration
• Force-constrained tool use
• Motion cone analysis
• Fréchet error minimization

Rachel is actively recruiting graduate students for Fall 2025 and works with the GRASP Lab's interdisciplinary environment that combines computer vision, machine learning, and mechanical design. She maintains collaborative ties with experts like Cynthia Sung and Daniel Koditschek at UPenn, and previously worked with Tomás Lozano-Pérez and Alberto Rodriguez at MIT's LIS Group and MCube Lab.