Paul Robinette

Paul Robinette serves as Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Master of Science Programs in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Francis College of Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell. He maintains significant affiliations with the Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) and the Raytheon UMass Lowell Research Institute (RURI), where his robotics research integrates printed electronics for field-deployable systems. His office resides in Ball Hall's third floor, with primary contact at Paul_Robinette@uml.edu.

Dr. Robinette earned his Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, establishing his foundation in robotics and human-systems engineering. This academic background directly informs his experimental approach to human-robot interaction challenges.

His research centers on trust dynamics in human-robot teams, particularly examining how moral violations versus performance failures impact trust retention. He investigates drone appearance effects on trust calibration, multi-robot coordination during search and rescue, and trust recovery mechanisms after system malfunctions. His experimental work spans marine environments using platforms like Robowhaler, subterranean scenarios, and emergency evacuation simulations—consistently bridging theoretical AI frameworks with real-world human factors.

Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals three dominant trends: 1) Quantitative validation of trust metrics across simulation and reality, 2) Development of relational network architectures for resilient multi-agent teams, and 3) Ethical frameworks for moral trust violations in autonomous systems. His work uniquely integrates reinforcement learning with psychological models to create beneficent AI systems that respect human trust boundaries.

As Associate Chair for Master's Programs, Dr. Robinette oversees graduate curriculum development and student mentorship within electrical and computer engineering. His research leadership through PERC and RURI facilitates cross-disciplinary collaboration between robotics, printed electronics, and defense applications—though specific grant details remain unspecified in available materials.

He directs experimental robotics teams developing platforms such as Robowhaler for marine autonomy and dataset collection. His lab maintains the publicly available Aquaticus dataset for human-robot teaming research and contributes to standardization efforts like the DECISIVE Test Methods Handbook for subterranean robotics evaluation. Current projects focus on real-world trust validation in navigation deviation scenarios and moral trust repair protocols.