Research
Control of Over- and Under- Actuated Unmanned Vehicles
Snyder, W., Roman, C., Licht, S. Hybrid actuation with complementary allocation for depth control of a Lagrangian sea-floor imaging platform. J Field Robotics. 2018; 35: 330– 344.
https://doi.org/10.1002/rob.21716
Soft Robotic Grippers for Ocean Exploration
Licht, S., Collins, E., Lopes Mendes, M., and Baxter, C.B.P. Stronger at Depth: Jamming Grippers as Deep Sea Sampling Tools. Soft Robotics. Dec 2017.305-316.
http://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2017.0028 [URI Library .pdf]
Technology Development for Aerial Characterization of Evolving Shorelines
Ultra Lightweight Autonomous Surface Vehicles
K. D. von Ellenrieder, H. C. Henninger and S. Licht, “Dynamic modelling and control of a portable USV for bathymetric survey,” Global Oceans 2020: Singapore – U.S. Gulf Coast, 2020, pp. 1-7,
doi: 10.1109/IEEECONF38699.2020.9389412.
People
Principal Investigator
Stephen Licht, Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering
Dr. Licht received his Ph.D. in Oceanographic and Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program. Prior to joining the URI faculty, he was a Senior Research Scientist with the Maritime Research Group at iRobot, a Senior Robotics Engineer with Vecna Robotics, and a Research Engineer at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. He is currently a Research Affiliate with the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, and served as Visiting Faculty in the Facultà di Scienze e Technolgie della Libera Università di Bolzano from 2019-2020.
Graduate Research Assistants
Alexei Sondergeld, PhD Candidate, Ocean Engineering
I am a Ph.D student in Ocean Engineering from Canton, Connecticut. I graduated from University of Connecticut with a BS in mechanical engineering and a minor in math, and Boston University with an MS in mechanical engineering and a specialization in Dynamics, Systems, and Controls. My research is in the area of autonomous underwater vehicle control. In my free time, I enjoy sculling, mountain biking, hiking, and building 1/32 scale model vessels for testing in local water bodies.
Benjamin Rahming, Ocean Engineering
Josh Wood is currently a graduate student pursuing his Master’s of Science in Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. Originally from Delaware, Josh first came to Rhode Island for his B.S. in Ocean Engineering and a minor in Applied Mathematics. Outside of developing deep-sea robotic systems and course-work, Josh likes to rock climb, surf, mountain bike, and fish.
Gregory Bales, Ocean Engineering and Marine Biology
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Former Research Assistants and Summer Associates
Roy Gilboa, Ocean Engineering (M.S. 2022)
URI Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, RI
Michael Rock, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2021, M.S. 2022)
Jaia Robotics, Bristol, RI
Jessica McLaughlin, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2022)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Sand Diego, CA
David Nadeau, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2022)
Rose Shayer, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2021)
NSWC-Carderock, Carderock, MD
Letti Kittel, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2019)
Waymo, San Francisco, CA
Marissa Torres, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2017, M.S. 2019)
US Army Corp of Engineers Cold Regions Research Lab, Hanover, NH
Ian McElroy, Ocean Engineering (B.S. 2019, M.S. 2020), French (B.A. 2019)
FORSSEA Robotics, Paris, France
Michael Antonucci, Ocean Engineering, B.S. (NUWC-Newport)
George Badlissi, Ocean Engineering, B.S (NUWC-Newport)
Everett Collins, Ocean Engineering, B.S. (NUWC-Newport)
Samuel Rauworth, Ocean Engineering, M.S. 2015 (Martin Defense Group)
Paulstephen Chierico, Ocean Engineering, M.S. (United States Navy)
Dane Elles, Ocean Engineering, M.S. (United States Navy)
Matthew Perkins, Ocean Engineering, M.S, PhD. (NUWC-Newport)
Nathan Gonzalez, Gordon College
Ashley Hutchins, Community College of Rhode Island