MechSE at Illinois (@illinoismechse.bsky.social)

Congratulations to MechSE Assistant Professor Justin Yim on earning the inaugural 2026 Aviation Week Space Tech Challenge Award in the University Programs category! See LEAP in action in NASA's recent video:: www.youtube.com/watch

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Robotics, autonomy, and controls: Assistant Professor Justin Yim Mobile robots have the potential to be uniquely useful tools and teammates, but currently have trouble getting around in many environments. Cluttered living rooms, ladders, and other spaces humans easily navigate remain challenging for robots. Natural environments like intertidal zones, cliffs, and trees are even less accessible to robots. In many cases, robots are physically incapable of consistently traversing complicated terrain regardless of control scheme due to force and power constraints, insufficient endurance and range, or insufficient control bandwidth. MechSE Assistant Professor Justin Yim's research enables high-performance locomotion in robots and investigates the underlying science by concurrently designing mechanisms that exhibit reduced-order dynamics and advantageous energy flow with controllers that leverage these mechanisms’ natural dynamics. By improving robot locomotion, robots will be able to accompany humans wherever they go and even reach places humans cannot. https://youtu.be/rswSKe4Rw78