Farhad Nawaz

I am a 5th year Ph.D. candidate at the GRASP lab, University of Pennsylvania, co-advised by Dr. Nikolai Matni and Dr. Nadia Figueroa.  I am interested in combining modern learning techniques with modular, traditional control methods for robotics and autonomous systems. My Ph.D. work focuses on developing learning-based motion planners that enable robots to perform safe and stable interactive manipulation tasks in human-centered environments.  I spent 6 months as an intern at the Honda Research Institute USA, where I developed trajectory planning algorithms for autonomous driving. 

I am seeking roles starting Summer 2026 and passionate about translating theory and algorithms into deployable robotic systems. 

Previously, I worked with Dr. Melkior Ornik for my master's degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on multi-agent path planning for stochastic environments. I also spent a year at the Indian Institute of Science with Dr. Ashwini Ratnoo developing guidance and control laws for quad-rotors. I hold a Bachelor’s (Hons.) degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Trichy, India.

Outside of work, I love to travel new places and try different types of food. I enjoy tennis for recreation, and have developed an interest for cooking.