Zachary Manchester

Zachary Manchester is an Assistant Professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, with a courtesy appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on enabling robotic systems to achieve human/animal-like agility and robustness through control theory, optimization, and physics-based algorithms. Key areas include legged robots, drone swarms, and space systems. He leads the Robotic Exploration Lab, which develops both hardware and software for advanced robotic applications. Current PhD students include Arun Bishop, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, and Jeong Hun Lee, among others. His work spans theoretical foundations and practical implementations, with applications in space exploration, terrestrial robotics, and deployable structures.

• Education: Not explicitly detailed in text.
• Advising: Supervises multiple PhD and master’s students, with past advisees now at institutions like SpaceX and NASA.
• Grants/Labs: Leads the Robotic Exploration Lab, collaborating on projects like PyCubed (open-source cubesat framework) and deployable space structures.