Teaching

I am proud to have contributed to the education of many students. I have developed and taught courses, I have supervised the research of excellent undergraduate students, many of whom decided to pursue graduate degrees at first-rate universities, and I have supervised great graduate students and postdocs, many of whom have joined the ranks of academia. My teaching philosophy has been driven by my desire to see our students achieve their fullest potential. Thus, the central theme my education plan has been quality, relevance, and impact. I have worked toward challenging our students to think for themselves and getting them excited about new ideas and projects, in order to deepen their knowledge of computer science and stimulate interest in graduate-level education. My overall goal has been to offer students experiences that are relevant to current technological needs and that prepare them well for career paths in both academia and the industry. To this end, I taught a wide range of computer science courses. I also developed new courses for both undergraduate and graduate students, first at Dartmouth College, and later at MIT.

At MIT, I co-founded and taught 6.141/6.142, Robotics Science and Systems I and II (courses.csail.mit.edu/6.141 and courses.csail.mit.edu/6.142). Robotics Systems and Science I (6.141) introduces students to the principles of robot design and programming, focusing on the mechanical and electronic principles behind building robots and on the classic algorithms, architectures, and theories behind controlling and programming robots. The course is a project course with weekly structured labs. Students work in teams toward building an increasingly more complex robot, culminating in a robot challenge at the end of the term.