Jonathan Hurst

Jonathan W. Hurst is a Professor of Robotics at Oregon State University's College of Engineering, Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering department. He co-founded the Oregon State University Robotics Institute and serves as CTO and co-founder of Agility Robotics. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and M.S./Ph.D. in Robotics. His research focuses on legged locomotion fundamentals, merging machine learning with traditional control methods to achieve advanced robotic mobility.

Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering (Carnegie Mellon), M.S. and Ph.D. Robotics (Carnegie Melllon).

Research emphasizes numerical studies, animal data analysis, simulation models, and physical robot prototyping. Key areas include dynamic gaits, passive compliance in movement, and bio-inspired design. His work aims to enable robots to navigate environments like humans, with commercial applications via Agility Robotics.

Awards include the 2018 OSU Faculty Innovator Award, Engelbrecht Young Faculty Award (2014), and Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Innovators recognition (2012). He leads the Dynamic Robotics Laboratory and collaborates on projects such as the Cassie robot.

Grants and industry partnerships support his research, advancing robotics for economic productivity and quality-of-life improvements. His lab integrates academic and applied research, producing both scholarly publications and commercializable technologies.