People

Faculty

Gray Thomas

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Gray Cortright Thomas, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He studies direct human control of physically interactive robots through a combination of strength amplification control, human modeling and estimation, and high-bandwidth design. He earned his 2019 Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked on the topics of multi-contact impedance control for humanoid robots, system identification for robust control, and series elastic actuation. Prior to his Ph.D., he earned his B.S. in Engineering:Robotics at Olin College of Engineering in 2012. He was the recipient of the NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship and Olin Full-Tuition Scholarship. Other research interests include force-feedback, series-elastic actuation, and robust control.

PhD Students

Jadon Kaercher

PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering

Jadon is a talented mechanical designer working at the intersection of fractal structures and human interface dynamics.

Anthony Petrakian

PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering

Anthony leads the strength amplification arm project, focusing on system theory and convex optimization for robust identification and control.

Jed Simms

PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering

Lewis “Jed” Simms is investigating the dynamics of ground reaction force feedback from the perspective of an knee exoskeleton, using a custom hardware setup combining a forceplate, motion tracking system, biomechanical leg model, and exoskeleton.

Anthony Barcio

PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering

Anthony Barcio is a PhD-track student who works closely with the HERC Lab. His current research is focused on the optimal design of planar rotary springs for use in robotic manipulators. He received a B.S. in Aerospace engineering and a B.A. in Saxophone Performance from the University of Oklahoma before coming to study at Texas A&M University.

Zachary Moyer

PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering

Zach is a Wisenbacker Fellow and is researching robust joint-level impedance controllers for space-rated robotic applications. He is currently developing nonlinear controllers for magnetically geared actuators and high-friction, series-elastic actuators. He received his B.S. in Engineering Science from Trinity University.

Alex Sowell

PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering

Alex is researching control techniques for compliant, multi-degree-of-freedom actuation systems. Concurrently, he works as an engineer in NASA Johnson Space Center’s Robotic Systems Technology Branch. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an M.S. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Chinmay Prakash Swami

PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering

Chinmay is developing controllers for the use of prosthetic legs during dynamic and outdoor locomotion. He is interested in the intersection of A.I and Controls.

Matthew Hammond

PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering

Matt’s research centers around complex robotic grasping and force feedback integration within novel control systems. He also has experience with the development of swarm robotics platforms and human-robot collaboration.

Undergraduate Students

Zachary Bucknor-Smartt

BS Mechanical Engineering '25

Zachary works with code, systems, and hardware for the strength amplifying arm project. Most recently he has been applying MIMO system identification to the arm model, visualized with a 3×3 grid of Bode plots.

Elizabeth Hannsz

BS Aerospace Engineering

Elizabeth is a talented mechanical designer working on designing a belt-less prosthetic knee for Open Source Leg (OSL).

Landry Graves

B.S Mechanical Engineering '25

Landry is a member of Texas A&M’s Engineering Honors program and is researching direct user control methods for exoskeletons. He is currently designing and developing hardware for a knee exoskeleton and human input device.

Javid Mustafa

BS Mechanical Engineering '25

Javid has interned as an undergraduate researcher for the TAMU SpaceCRAFT, RAD, and HERC Labs working on software, system integration, and controls. His research centers around implementing and testing the efficacy of direct user inputs in training the personalized gait estimation controller for the MBLUE exoskeleton outside steady state laboratory conditions. .

Mamta Korwani

BS Mechanical Engineering '25

Mamta is a senior Mechanical Engineering student at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on enabling direct user control of a knee exoskeleton by integrating mechanical design with software systems.

Willem Bannick

BS Mechanical Engineering '25

Willem is a Mechnical Engineering Senior at Texas A&M University. His current research focuses on the mitigation of displacement in lower-limb exoskeletons, and the hardware design of a human input device that could be used to train personalized gait patterns for lower-limb exoskeletons users.

Alumni

Crystal Q Scott

BS Mechanical Engineering '24

Crystal designed numerous hardware components for the HERC lab’s strength amplification arm project in the summer of 2024, including the six-axis spring box pictured here. She departs to Pittsburgh for graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University.