Dr. Abigale Stangl is a design researcher specializing in the development of systems that promote inclusive design practices and enhance the accessibility of products and information. With expertise in human-centered design, human-computer interaction, accessibility, and sensory AI, her interdisciplinary research encompasses universal design principles and prioritizes disability-first innovation. Abigale's current research goals focus on expanding tactile media availability through in-depth investigations of tactile design practices, interaction techniques, and the optimization of multimodal and multisensory systems. She actively collaborates with individuals with disabilities, ensuring their perspectives and needs drive innovation. Abigale also cultivates students' abilities as allies and co-designers, fostering an inclusive design community that embraces diverse perspectives.

Dr. Lonnie Parker is the Collaborative Autonomy Branch Chief in the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Division of the ATAS Laboratory at GTRI and serves as the PI for multiple programs. He has 10+ years of experience in managing DoD-sponsored projects and is focused on designing collaborative behaviors for unmanned systems in both the maritime and air domains. Prior to joining GTRI, Dr. Parker spent seven years at a NAVSEA warfare center, NUWC Division Newport, where he performed research into maritime autonomy through ONR-sponsored and internally funded efforts. Lonnie received a Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2012. His research advisor was Prof. Ayanna M. Howard. Lonnie received an M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006.

Shreyas Kousik is an assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Previously, Shreyas was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, working in the ASL under Prof. Marco. Kousik completed a postdoc with Prof. Grace Gao in the NAV Lab. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, advised by Prof. Ram Vasudevan in the ROAHM Lab and received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, advised by Prof. Antonia Antoniou.

Kousik’s research is focused on guaranteeing safety in autonomy via collision avoidance methods for robots. His lab’s goal is to translate safety in math to safety on real robots by exploring ways to model uncertainty from autonomous perception and estimation systems and ensure that these models are practical for downstream planning and control tasks

Stuart Michelson is a member of the research faculty at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and is known as a subject matter expert in Human Systems Engineering. He leads Human Factors and Ergonomics and Human Systems Integration (HSI) efforts for DoD customers specializing in tactical display design spanning command and control, training, unmanned vehicle ground control stations, Manned-unmanned teaming, and mission planning. He has expertise in digital human modeling/ergonomic/anthropometric analyses to assess cockpit accommodation and experience with wearable soldier systems and tactical equipment design.

Since 2000, Michelson has organized the American venue and annual Symposium on Dynamic Flight Behavior for Aerial Robotics for the International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC), the longest running collegiate aerial challenge in the world focused on advancing the state of the art in aerial robotic behavior.

Michelson has held an Associate Human Factors Professional status from the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics, is recognized as a graphic design professional by the International Academy of Computer Training, and is certified to conduct ethical Human Subjects Research.

Michelson has supported and led numerous programs within the Georgia Tech Research Institute leveraging his knowledge of soldier loadout and autonomous unmanned systems. Notably, he has designed graphical user interfaces, developed human-centered system requirements, led programs to quantify human performance, assessed anthropometric accommodations, and supported system test and evaluation for DoD stakeholders spanning the United States Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps.

Dr. Book began at Tech in 1974 as an assistant professor. He has maintained a longstanding interest in robotics, automatic controls, and in the special topic of his Ph.D. thesis, the control of flexible motion systems. 

He was instrumental in the formation of the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS) Program at Georgia Tech, serving as its founding director from 1983 to 1988. In 2001, he was appointed to the HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control. Shortly thereafter he established the Georgia Tech Fluid Power and Motion Control Center. 

He retired from Georgia Tech in June of 2011 and was granted emeritus status and continues to be active in that capacity.

Michael (Mick) West joined ECE from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in 2022. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Hawaii (UH) in 2006 and has over 28 years of professional experience with over 40 refereed journals and conference papers. 

West specializes in the development unmanned systems in extreme environments (under-ice, planetary, deep ocean, polar). He has been an invited speaker for United States Congressional leaders and their staff and top military personnel in the development of roadmaps for advancing current robotics research. He has served as PI on several Unmanned Systems programs developing novel enabling technologies including advanced control and power systems on underwater, ground, air and space platforms. West developed the first-of-its-kind under-ice vehicle, Icefin, in order to gather information about the changing polar ice and provide insight into areas of climate science, as well as biology and planetary science. The vehicle has been deployed over five seasons through the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and provided never before seen images and scientific data of the Antarctic seafloor.

Tom Sammon focuses on implementing lean manufacturing practices and helping companies develop capital equipment applications.

Jeff comes to VentureLab after 35 years in the personal computing industry, focusing on communications, mobility, Internet services, and usability. As a software developer and architect from the earliest days of the PC, Jeff has been instrumental in creating applications and co-founding companies that led their markets and were highly regarded by customers and the industry. He co-founded his first startup with his Georgia Tech graduate advisor in 1982, and sold his most recent company, Rover Apps, in 2013. Jeff earned an AB in Mathematics from Wabash College, and his MS in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Tech. His personal passions include FIRST Robotics and STEM education for young people.

Karen M. Feigh is a Professor at Georgia Tech's Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering with a courtesy appointment in the School of Interactive Computing. As the director of the Georgia Tech Cognitive Engineering Center, she leads a research and education program focused on the computational cognitive modeling and design of cognitive work support systems and technologies to improve the performance of socio-technical systems. She is responsible for undergraduate and graduate level instruction in the areas of flight dynamics, human reliability analysis methods, human factors, human-automation interaction and cognitive engineering. Feigh has over 14 years of relevant research and design experience in fast-time air traffic simulation, ethnographic studies, airline operation control centers, synthetic vision systems for helicopters, expert systems for air traffic control towers, human extra-vehicular activities in space, and the impact of context on undersea warfighters. Recently her work has focused on human-autonomy teaming and the human experience of machine learning across a number of domains.

Feigh has served as both Co-PI and PI on a number of FAA, NIA, ONR, NSF and NASA sponsored projects. As part of her research, Feigh has published 35 scholarly papers in the field of Cognitive Engineering with primary emphasis on the aviation industry. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. She previously served as the Chair to the Human Factor and Ergonomics Society’s Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making Technical Group, and on the National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB).

Dr. Yong Cho, MSCE '97, has returned to CEE as an associate professor. Cho comes to Georgia Tech most recently from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he taught construction engineering, construction management, and architectural engineering after earning his doctorate at the University of Texas in 2000. A 2011 recipient of the NSF Early Career Award, his research interests include construction automation, robotics, and transportation. He is leading the development of a new paradigm in these research areas by challenging the current understanding of science/engineering technologies in construction and sustainable built environments. Among the challenges he is investigating are robotizing several critical construction and maintenance tasks and disaster relief efforts.