There are four special sessions for MECC 2021:

Industry-Led Research Roadmap Panel on Control Engineering in the Age of AI, 12:55-14:00 PM Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.
More details here.

The Impact of Inclusivity on Innovation, 4:05PM – 5:00 PM Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.
More details here.

An Overview of Modeling, Estimation, and Control Funding Opportunities at NSF, 4:05PM – 5:00 PM Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021.
More details here.

Underrepresented Stories in Controls & Robotics Industry, 12:55-14:00 PM Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021.
More details here.

Organizers:
Dr. Selina Pan, SixWheel
Dr. Pingen Chen, Tennessee Tech University
Dr. Carrie Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology
Dr. Yan Chen, Arizona State University
Dr. Mahdi Shahbakhti, University of Alberta

Abstract: Academic research and industry development have a symbiotic relationship.The insights gleaned from academic research can be propagated into usable products and technologies by companies. The practical problems identified in industry can also inspire and develop new academic research topics and areas and these new areas of research and development can be explored jointly. This cycle and relationship is key for researchers to understand and to participate in. To facilitate these connections, every year, the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division organizes an industry special session at a major controls conference. Nowadays, both academia and industry host increasingly diverse communities. These communities consist of researchers, engineers, teachers, programmers, and managers, and their members are thriving from many different backgrounds. This session seeks to bring together both the importance of exposure to parallel work happening in industry, with the diverse people and their stories who are doing the work, to the Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference. Academia is taking increasingly large strides to increase diversity in both its student population as well as its faculty. Industry is doing the same, in both similar and diverging ways, with efforts ranging from recruiting, changing hiring practices, evolving performance review processes, workshops in unconscious bias, employee resource groups, and setting diversity and inclusion as a company-wide initiative. The speakers featured in this session have a variety of technical backgrounds and life experiences, and they all come together in controls and robotics industry jobs. The purpose of this session is twofold: 1) to showcase some of the current cutting-edge jobs available to controls students in industry and 2) to demonstrate examples of different life paths that led to these jobs and inspire junior researchers that will see wider representation. This special session is sponsored by the Automotive Transportation Systems and Energy Systems Technical Committee. The proposed list of speakers has combined experience from: Toyota Research Institute, Woven Planet, Ekso Bionics, the U.S. Marines, Apple, and a stealth hardware and Software as a Service (startup). They come from a variety of educational backgrounds as well, including University of California, Berkeley, San Jose State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chulalongkorn University, Stanford University, and University of Missouri—Kansas City. Finally, the speakers come from a variety of geographical backgrounds, including San Jose, California, Houston, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Bangkok, Thailand.

Speakers:

Talk 1: Innovation through Limitations and Tight Constraints, Perspective Views between Silicon Valley and Thailand.

Abstract Entrepreneurs at different parts of the world may find different paths to deliver innovation given the local limitations and tight constraints. Growing up in Thailand and having graduated education in the Bay Area, together with intensive working experiences in Silicon Valley, the difference when it comes to a path to innovate is emphasized in this seminar. Those differences include the methodology to tackle and overcome certain challenges throughout each product life cycle and value chain such as material/component availability, skillful tech developers, and even cultivated culture for innovation creation. In addition, the speaker will also share the views of adopting the Control, Robotics and Automation foundation to tackle challenges and optimize the solution, not only for the product research and development perspective, but also the business related and operation topics.

BIO: Kan Kanjanapas completed his undergraduate, major Automotive Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand in 2008. Then, the speaker also completed his Master and Doctoral degree from Mechanical Systems Control Laboratory, under supervision by Prof Masayoshi Tomizuka, Department of Mechanical Engineering at U.C. Berkeley in 2014. Later, the speaker career started as Camera Hardware and Systems Engineer at Apple, Cupertino, CA during 2014-2018. After 10 years in the Bay Area, the speaker relocated back to Thailand and founded a local Hardware-Ai startup in Bangkok, Thailand with his Berkeley alumnus to resolve a certain social challenge here in Southeast Asia. In addition to an Engineering background, the speaker currently pursues the Master Degree in Executive MBA at Sasin School of Management in Thailand. The speaker's interests range from System Identification, Advanced Control Design, System Optimization, Mobile Robotics, Product Design, Operational Management, and Business Strategy through Cutting-Edge Innovation

Talk 2: The Gift of Presence.

Abstract Underrepresentation often means that individuals see no representation of themselves in a field in their field of view. For those of us fortunate enough to have seen representation, the impact can be life changing. This talk will examine the effect that presence can have on career selection and success as well as the responsibilities and opportunities we have to be that presence for others.

BIO: Katie Strausser is a Controls Engineer and the Technology Lead for Exoskeletons at Ekso Bionics. She is one of the inventors of the original Ekso Bionics rehabilitation exoskeleton and has continued leading development efforts of the EksoNR product. Katie is passionate about improving the lives of others, whether that be through development of new controls systems or human machine interfaces for the EksoNR product or through education and outreach activities.

Talk 3: My not so autonomous path to software engineering.

Abstract This talk will focus on Manuel’s path to becoming a software engineer working on control systems at Toyota Research Institute (TRI). His path on becoming a software engineer is not exactly a linear one, and he’ll discuss what he went through not only in school, but also in industry to arrive where he is today. This talk hopes to motivate individuals in knowing what a first generation student from immigrant parents can do.

BIO: Manuel Ahumada is a software engineer at Toyota Research Institute, where he works on control, integration, and general software development for autonomous vehicles. He obtained his Bachelor's in mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University 2013, and his Master's in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2015. While at Stanford, he worked on wearable robotic arms that would aid with high load manufacturing processes. Manuel is particularly inspired by solving problems that help keep people safe, while still allowing them to enjoy cutting edge technology.

Talk 4: From the Battlefield to the Lab.

Abstract It has been said that success is a journey, not a destination. For Logan Ellis, a circuitous life journey was ultimately his path to success. In this talk, Logan will discuss how his experiences in the United States Marine Corps carried him through the rigors of academia and ultimately led to his role as a robotics researcher at Toyota Research Institute. He will also discuss how being a veteran and a first generation college graduate shaped his experiences as he ascended to the higher rungs of social, academic, and professional life.

BIO: Logan Ellis was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. From 2005-2010, he served as an Aviation Electrician in the United States Marine Corps, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. After his military service, he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Masters Degree in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. He now conducts research in the field of Machine Learning at Toyota Research Institute