Brian Plancher

Brian Plancher is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Barnard College, Columbia University, and will transition to Dartmouth College in Fall 2025. He leads the Accessible and Accelerated Robotics Lab (A²R Lab), focusing on optimizing robotic systems through algorithm-hardware-software co-design. His research spans Robotics, Embedded Systems, and Machine Learning, with an emphasis on accessibility in STEM education and global TinyML initiatives. He co-chairs the TinyMLedu Open Education Initiative and serves on the IEEE RAS Technical Committee.

Education: PhD (2022), MEng (2018), and BA (2013) in Computer Science from Harvard University.

Research Interests: Developing open-source algorithms for dynamic motion planning, GPU-accelerated optimization, and education initiatives to lower barriers in robotics and embedded ML. Recent efforts include TinyMPC (microcontroller optimization) and MPCGPU (real-time NMPC on GPUs).

Grants & Awards: NSF CSSI Grant (2024), Toyota Research Institute Grant (2025), and best paper/poster awards at IEEE ICRA and robotics conferences. His work emphasizes sustainability, ethics, and global accessibility in AI and robotics.

Lab & Teaching: Teaches Parallel Optimization for Robotics at Barnard and organizes the Optimization for Robotics Summer School. Collaborates internationally on TinyML4D to scale education in developing countries.