Christoffer Heckman

Christoffer Heckman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and holds the Jacques I. Pankove Faculty Fellow position in the College of Engineering & Applied Science. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley (2008) and PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University (2012), where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. His career includes postdoctoral roles at the Naval Research Laboratory and CU Boulder before joining the faculty in 2016. He also worked at Amazon as a Visiting Academic (2021–2023) and is currently a Senior Staff Software Engineer at Zoox.

His research focuses on autonomy, perception, field robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. He directs the Autonomous Robotics and Perception Group, aiming to develop explainable techniques in probabilistic AI. His work spans applications in intelligence, defense, environmental monitoring, and autonomous systems like vehicles and agricultural platforms. Notable projects include radar-based navigation and the Scout program for sidewalk delivery robots.

Key achievements include the NSF CAREER Award and leadership in subterranean robotics challenges. His research integrates computer vision, sensor fusion, and neural dynamics to advance practical robotic solutions for medicine, search & rescue, and automation.

• Awards: NSF CAREER Award, Jacques I. Pankove Faculty Fellow
• Labs/Teams: Autonomous Robotics and Perception Group
• Grants: CAREER: Radar-based Perception and Navigation in Visually Degraded Environments (2024)