People
Group Photo Gallery
Director / PI
Kooktae Lee
I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico Tech University, where I joined as an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2017. I received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Korea University in 2006 and 2008, respectively. I received my Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2015 and continued my research as a postdoctoral research associate from 2015 to 2016. I was also a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of California San Diego from 2016 to 2017.
My major research interests include distributed networked control systems, multi-agent systems, robotics, and asynchronous algorithms.
Current Graduate Students
- Ph.D. students
- Sungjun Seo (Ph.D., Jan. 2023 - ):
Development of an Autonomous Multi-Robot System for Wildlife Monitoring Missions
- Mahsa Soroori (Ph.D., Jul. 2023 - ):
Information-Driven Multi-Agent Control
- Eleanor Rightley (Ph.D., Jan. 2024 - ):
- M.S. students
- Jesse Montano (M.S., Aug. 2022 - May 2024 (expected)):
Computationally Efficient Scan Matching Method via Optimal Transport Theory for SLAM applications
- Mohammad Afrazi (M.S., Aug. 2022 - ):
Asynchronous Consensus Algorithm for Microgrid State Estimation
- Dana Figueroa (M.S., Aug. 2023 - ):
- Seth Diaz (M.S., Aug. 2023 - ):
- Nathan Carpenter (M.S., Aug. 2023 - ):
Graduate Alumni
NMT Graduate Students (as a Chair of Committee)
- Luke Strebe (M.S., Aug. 2021 - May 2023):
Design and Control of a Solar-Powered Autonomous Mobile Robot
- Geronimo Macias (M.S., Aug. 2020 - May 2023):
Development of a Hybrid Drone and an Informative Path Planning Algorithm for Cave and Karst Surveys
- Brendan O'Brien (M.S., Jul. 2020 - Sep. 2022, Full-Time Employee at Los Alamos National Lab.):
Automation of Detonator Crimp Seam Gluing through Dispensing Pressure and Specimen Rotational Speed Compensations
- Rabiul Hasan Kabir (M.S., Aug. 2019 - Jun. 2021, Ph.D. student at Rutgers University ):
Optimal Transport-based Efficient Multi-Robot Exploration Planning
- Johnathon Garcia (M.S., graduated in May 2020, joined U.S. navy):
Design and Analysis of a New Mechanism for a Snake-Like Robot
NMT Graduate Students (as a Member of Committee)
- Daniel Mills (EE Ph.D., graduated in Fall 2023):
Continuous-Time Optimal Control with Domain Constraints Enforced by Operator Splitting
- Mariah Gammill (M.S., graduated in 2023):
Natural Energy Harvesting Mechanisms for a Drone on Titan
- John Anthony Sanchez (M.S., graduated in 2020):
Elastic Wave Dispersion and the Effects of Boundary Conditions in a Small Payload for the International Space Station
- Sean Coss (M.S., graduated in 2019):
Design and Characterization of a Wristband for Force Myographic Control of Prostheses
- Benjamin Alan Chesebrough (M.S., graduated in 2019):
Design and Optimization of Manipulator Kinematics for Drone Based Structural Repair
- Naghmeh Zamani (M.S., graduated in 2018):
Robotic Tools for Training and Assessment of Orthopaedic Surgical Skills
- Jakub Patrick Mroczkowski (M.S., graduated in 2018):
Principles of Robotic Design Applied to Novel Methods for Cadaveric, Prosthetic, and Mechanical Testing
Undergraduate Students
Seth Diaz (Jan. 2023 - May 2023): Field Robot Development
Eleanor Rightley (Jan. 2023 - May 2023): Field Robot Development
Darren Marcelino (Sep. 2022 - Dec. 2022): Optimal Microgrid Operation via Distributed Resource Estimation and Microgrid Network Design
Drew Raymond (Sep. 2022 - Dec. 2022): Optimal Microgrid Operation via Distributed Resource Estimation and Microgrid Network Design
Jakobe Ochoa (Aug. 2022 - Dec. 2022, sponsored by NMT Sophomore Research Program):
Mason Crabtree (Amarillo College, Summer 2022 under the NSF REU program): Experimental Research of an Autonomous Mobile Robot for Precision Assignments
Hosman Caraveo-Macias (Oct. 2021 - May 2022): Development of an Autonomous Multi-Robot System
Trung Le (Jun. 2021 - Dec. 2022 / 2021 UROCK Fellowship Awardee under Dr. Lee's supervision): Analysis of a Hybrid Drone System
Vivian Su (University of Utah, Summer 2021 under the NSF REU program): Solar Charging System for Sustainable Operations of Mobile Robots
Jesse Montano (Feb. 2021 - May 2022 / 2021 UROCK Fellowship Awardee under Dr. Lee's supervision): Investigation of LiDAR sensor
Troy Sims (Feb. 2021 - Apr. 2021): Development of an Autonomous Multi-Robot System
Roman Baca (Feb. 2021 - Apr. 2021): Development of an Autonomous Multi-Robot System
Stephanie Weber (University of Florida, Summer 2019 under the NSF REU program): Implementation of the central limit theorem to sensor fusion in drone applications
Jacob Langford (May 2019 - May 2020): Drone manufacturing and controller design for precision landing
Geronimo Macias (Mar. 2019 - Nov. 2019 / NMT ME Undergrad Research Awardee): Formation control of multi-agent systems
Emilio Herrera (Feb. 2019 - May 2019): Drone swarming
Brendan O'Brien (Feb. 2019 - May 2019): Automatic battery replacement system
Corey Dotson (Feb. 2019 - May 2019): Drone swarming
Dan Puckett (Feb. 2019 - May 2019): Drone manufacturing
James Nolan (Feb. 2019 - May 2019): Drone manufacturing
Michael Lin (Oct. 2018 - May 2020 / NMT ME Design Clinic Awardee): Sensor development for drone precision landing
Christopher Vigil (Mar. 2018 - May 2019): Drone precision landing
William Martin (Mar. 2018 - Jan. 2019): Wireless charging station