Andre Rosendo

Andre Rosendo serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Robotics Engineering department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with prior faculty experience at ShanghaiTech University, China, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge.

His academic credentials include:

• B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering, Bahia Federal University, Brazil (2008)
• M.S. in Information Science, Hokkaido University, Japan (2011)
• Ph.D. in Information Science, Osaka University, Japan (2014)
• Postdoc in Engineering, University of Cambridge (2017)

His research bridges robotics and machine learning, specializing in soft robot design and learning algorithms for control optimization in legged locomotion and soft manipulators. Work emphasizes reinforcement learning, Bayesian optimization, and variable stiffness systems, targeting autonomous navigation and manipulation challenges.

Recent publications reveal a strong trend in developing learning-based frameworks for legged robots and soft grippers, frequently integrating neural networks with classical control methods to solve complex terrain navigation and object recognition problems.

As an educator, he mentors WPI undergraduate MQP students in practical robotics projects, exemplified by the TechXplore-featured transformable wheel-leg robot developed with Ruixiang Cao. His outreach includes teaching Scratch programming to low-income children in Shanghai.

Though no formal lab is named, he cultivates collaborative student projects focused on innovative robot design and algorithm development within WPI's Robotics Engineering department.