I am a roboticist specializing in control theory and path planning for autonomous underwater vehicles. My research is a nexus of applied mathematics, ocean science and engineering. The motivation for my work is to develop enabling technologies that efficiently and effectively measure, monitor and assess the condition of aquatic ecosystems.
Dr. Ryan Neal Smith

 Associate Professor
Fort Lewis College
Lecturer in Robotics
Queensland University of Technology
Postdoctoral Research Assistant
University of Southern California
Ph.D. Ocean & Resources Engineering, M.A. Mathematics
University of Hawaii at Manoa
B.S. Mathematics, B.S. Engineering Physics
Miami University
Download my CV (Updated Sept. 2017)
Download my Bio (Updated Mar. 2015)

Notes, News, Updates, Travel, etc...
    • Our paper and invited session were just accepted to the 1st IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications.
    • Another paper was nominated as a finalist for the Student Poster Competition at the MTS/IEEE Oceans Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.
    • The Autonomous Surface Vehicle project by my senior design team from the 2015-2016 academic year was featured in the 2017 January/February issue of Eco Magazine.
    • Headed to Barbados on 6 January 2017 for the annual Marine Robotics Meeting at the McGill University Bellairs Research Institute.
    • Two papers being presented at the MTS/IEEE Oceans conference in Monterey the week of 20 September.
    • Featured on KOB-4 News for the use of 3-D printing to help upgrade the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Article and video can be seen HERE.
    • Executed a very successful Marine Robotics Research Summer School (MRRSS) at Harvey Mudd College sponsored by the IEEE. See the details of the program HERE.
    • Recently featured in the Durango Herald for 3D printing new brake heads for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. See the article HERE.
    • My proposal "Long-Term Autonomy and Persistent Navigation in Spatiotemporally Dynamic Environments" was just recommended for funding under ONR's Science of Autonomy Program.
    • Working with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to create new molds for locomotive brake heads using 3-D printing technology.
    • Promotional video for our new prototype vehicle HERE.
    • Featured in the Durango Herald for efforts in community outreach programs. See the article with video HERE.
    • Recently awarded an NSF MRI for the acquisition of a networked fleet of aquatic robots.
    • Featured again on 4CornersTV.com. See the video HERE.
    • Featured on 4CornersTV.com. See the video HERE.
    • Featured on the front page of the Durango Herald on 16 June 2015. Read the article HERE.
    • I will be giving the closing talk at the Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) in Albuquerque, NM on 11 July 2015.
    • Presenting a workshop on Aquatic Botball at the Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) in Albuquerque, NM on 6 July 2015.
    • Two papers were accepted for publication in ICRA 2015. See the Publications page for details.
      • "Zig-Zag Wanderer: Towards Adaptive Tracking of Time-Varying Coherent Structures in the Ocean"
      • "Predictive Motion Planning for AUVs subject to strong time-varying currents and forecasting uncertainties"
    • I will be co-chairing the workshop Persistent Autonomy for Aquatic Robotics: the Role of Control and Learning in Single and Multi-Robot Systems at ICRA 2015.
    • Acting Co-Chair of the Robotics and Automation Society Technical Committee on Marine Robotics