Tongjia Zheng, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral FellowContinuum Robotics LaboratoryDepartment of Mathematical & Computational SciencesUniversity of Toronto, Canada
Emails:
tongjia.zheng@ualberta.ca (UofA)tongjia.zheng@utoronto.ca (UofT)
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Postdoctoral FellowContinuum Robotics LaboratoryDepartment of Mathematical & Computational SciencesUniversity of Toronto, Canada
Emails:
tongjia.zheng@ualberta.ca (UofA)tongjia.zheng@utoronto.ca (UofT)
About Me
About Me
I am a postdoc in the Continuum Robotics Laboratory at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. Jessica Burgner-Kahrs. I received my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2024 with the department's Research Excellence Award. I also obtained a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Mathematics from the same university in 2023. Before that, I earned my Bachelor's degree in Automation in 2015 and a Master's degree in Control Theory and Control Engineering in 2017 from the South China University of Technology.
I will be joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta as a tenure-track assistant professor in January 2027! I am recruiting PhD students. Please see my UofA page for more details!
My Research
My Research
Robotic systems are advancing rapidly, featuring increasing scale and complex interconnectivity. However, real-world deployment remains limited due to challenges in control and automation. My goal is to advance the theoretical foundations necessary to accelerate real-world deployment by developing scalable and robust control methodologies.
My research addresses the critical challenge of scalability in controlling complex robotic systems, with a focus on swarm robotics and soft robotics.
In swarm robotics, my research seeks to bridge the gap between bottom-up and top-down design paradigms. By integrating insights from both approaches, I aim to unravel and control the emergent behaviors of interactive swarm systems, enabling scalable coordination and functionality in large multi-robot systems.
In soft robotics, my research focuses on establishing a robust theoretical foundation for the design and control of soft robots. Leveraging tools from continuum mechanics, differential geometry, and the control theory of partial differential equations, I aim to address the unique challenges posed by their highly deformable and dynamic structures.
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