General

NRT-LEAD Faculty Leading the Development of Micro-Robots

Two insect-like robots, a mini-bug and a water strider, developed by Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia, Flaherty Associate Professor in Engineering at WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and his lab are the smallest, lightest and fastest fully functional micro-robots ever known to be created. Click here for the full story!

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NRT-LEAD Program Director Receives Innovation Award

Prashanta Dutta, professor in Washington State University’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, received the 2024 Donald N. Zwiep Innovation in Education Award for his work in designing, developing, and disseminating desktop learning modules. Click here for the full story!

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Join Us at our Inaugural Annual Research Expo!

Our first NRT-LEAD Annual Research Expo will be held on May 13-14, 2024. All are welcome to attend. Held partially in conjunction with the Rivers, Watersheds and Communities NRT, this event will include a keynote robotics speaker, student research posters and presentations, a BBQ meet-and-greet, and a workshop on Paths to Commercializing Your Research. Below is […]

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Media Coverage of NRT-LEAD Research

The in press article can be accessed below: Probst, T. M., Lindgren, R. J., Dorosh, R., Allen, J. C., Pascual, L., & Luo, M. (in press). Effects of prior robot experience, speed, and proximity on psychosocial reactions to a soft growing robot. IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors. https://doi.org/10.1080/24725838.2023.2284193

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NRT Agricultural Trust Researchers receive NSF grant

Drs. Ming Luo, Manoj Karkee, Yan Yan, and Matthew Whiting have been awarded a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant to improve the efficiency of automated apple harvesting robotics.   For the full article, click here.

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NRT-LEAD Funding Highlighted by Good Fruit Grower

The Washington State Fruit Commission highlighted the newly-funded NRT-LEAD program in its Good Fruit Grower magazine, which has subscribers from every U.S. state and 50 countries, noting our goal: …to train engineering students to design robots that work well with, and for, people. For the full article, click here.

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Official Launch of the NRT-LEAD Program!

Students, faculty, and staff from across the WSU system representing 5 campuses and 4 colleges converged in Pullman to celebrate the official kickoff of the NRT-LEAD program! After opening remarks by leading WSU administrators, speakers discussed the aims of the program, programmatic components and traineeship opportunities, as well as the nomination process for becoming an […]

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NRT-LEAD Program Highlighted by WSU Insider

WSU celebrated the success of the newly funded NRT-LEAD program in a WSU Insider story, which read in part: “A new generation of engineers at Washington State University will learn not only how to build better robots but also how to make them work better with, and for, humans — thanks in part to a […]

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Co-PI Dr. Tahira Probst Inducted to Washington State Academy of Sciences

Dr. Tahira Probst, Associate Director of the NRT-LEAD program, has been inducted into the Washington State Academy of Sciences for her pioneering research on effects of precarious work on employee health, safety, and well-being. As part of her NRT-LEAD efforts, she will be working with NRT trainees to evaluate the effects of increasing automation and incorporation of […]

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