Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar is the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, with faculty appointments in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Electrical and Systems Engineering. He is a leading figure in robotics and computer architecture research.

Research Interests include robotics, particularly multi-robot systems and micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), as well as computer architecture innovations for machine learning, GPU acceleration, and datacenter efficiency. His work spans theoretical foundations and practical applications in autonomous systems and hardware optimization.

Scientific Awards include:

• 1991 NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award
• 1996 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching
• 2012 ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award
• 2014 Engelberger Robotics Award
• 2017 IEEE George Saridis Leadership Award
• Multiple best paper awards at DARS, ICRA, and RSS conferences

Editorial Leadership includes serving as Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics and Advisory Board Member of AAAS Science Robotics Journal. His GRASP Lab team developed foundational frameworks for micro UAV testbeds and swarm robotics.