News

The Center for Autonomy at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences hosted four outreach programs for undergraduates over the summer. Over the course of the three eight-week programs, AEOP, Realtime Adaption REU and NASA's ULI, interns contributed to both software and hardware engineering tasks, supporting ground and legged platforms such as Clearpath Jackals, a Husky, and Unitree Go2 quadrupeds. Under the guidance of research mentor Dr. Christian Ellis and Ph.D. students, participants break down complex research objectives into achievable tasks, ultimately developing software to work seamlessly with real robotic systems.

The CCC just released a new joint whitepaper with CRA-Industry, "The Future of Programming in the Age of Large Language Models." A collaborative effort of leading experts in academia and industry, this paper delves into the profound impact of large language models (LLMs) on the landscape of software development and computing education.

The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences has named Cyrus Neary the recipient of its 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Neary, a former GRA with the Autonomous Systems Group, graduated with his Ph.D. in Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics in August 2024 and will return to Austin this May for the commencement ceremony. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Mila - The Quebec AI Institute, and he will join the University of British Columbia as an assistant professor in the fall of 2025, where he looks forward to continuing to advance his work at the intersection of machine learning, autonomy, and robotics.

The University of Texas at Austin, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, is advancing robotics and AI systems to enhance military safety and efficiency. Professor Ufuk Topcu and Christian Ellis, a joint postdoctoral researcher with the Army Research Laboratory and the UT Center for Autonomy, have developed practical solutions for real-world robotic platforms and applications, including a reinforcement learning approach for autonomous ground vehicles operating in unstructured terrain.

Professor Krishna Kumar, a member of the Center for Autonomy, is one of the Oden Institute 2024 Grand Challenge Award recipients. Congratulations to Professor Kumar!

As the grand finale to UT Austin's Year of AI, members from the Center for Autonomy participated in a Robot Parade organized by Texas Robotics on Friday, November 15, 2024. Group members Will Ward and Christian Ellis drove our lab's Clearpath robots and Unitree Go 2 robotic dog alongside UT Mariachi and a parade of students, faculty, and researchers.

The Center for Autonomy at the Oden Institute for Computational Sciences is proud to showcase our recent Spring and Summer graduates. These graduates are now equipped to make a meaningful and positive impact on the field as they embark on their new career paths.

The CCC Council’s Addressing the Unforeseen Deleterious Impacts of Technology (AUDIT) task force, composed of Nadya Bliss, Kevin Butler, David Danks, Ufuk Topcu, and Matthew Turk, recently released a new Whitepaper, "Addressing the Unforeseen Harms of Technology."

Professor Takashi Tanaka, a member of the Center for Autonomy, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering with tenure as of September 1st, 2024. Congratulations to Professor Tanaka!

NASA collaborates with George Washington University and the University of Texas at Austin to investigate how to safeguard autonomous aircraft flying in high-density urban airspace from cyberattacks that could disrupt safe operations.