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NASA Robotics for Exploration and Discovery

Meet the Experts!

Linda Kobayashi

Linda's interest in robots began when she watched a show about robots on PBS. She found it fascinating to see something inanimate come to life! This fascination led her to NASA Ames Research Center. Linda worked at NASA as a high school student through a program called SHARP (Summer High School Apprenticeship Program) and later worked as a college intern through a program called SCEP (Summer Career Experience Program). From high school through undergraduate, her work assignments involved calibrating sensors and soldering boards together that were to be used in various robotic platforms. In 1997, she graduated from the University of California, Davis, with an Electrical Engineering degree and began working full-time at NASA Ames Research Center. All the projects Linda has worked on have involved robots. The first robot she worked on was MEL, a robot with a wheel chair base. Next, she worked on a robot called Marsokhod, which has a titanium chassis made in Russia. She then began working on the K9 and PSA robots, on which she continues to work. Following her interest in robotics, she plans to work towards a Master's degree in controls engineering and become more involved with software development on robotic platforms.

Brett Kennedy

Brett Kennedy received a B.S. in mechanical engineering (emphasis in controls and
robotics) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996. As an undergraduate, he was involved in research covering design of composite material parts, design of human amplification mechanisms, and finite-element modeling of bones. In 1997, he received his M.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he concentrated on mechatronics and robotics. His current work at JPL includes lead mechatronic design on the Legged Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR), the Tactical Mobile Robot (TMR), Exploration Technology Rover (FIDO), and the All-Terrain Explorer (ATE). Brett recently joined the design team for the Mars Exploration Rovers, twin rovers that will be sent to Mars in 2003.

Marcus Ashley

Marcus Ashley is a student at De Anza High School in Richmond, CA. He has been involved in the FIRST Robotics Competition, Botball and other events. Marcus has participated in the NASA SENSORS program and and was a SHARP summer intern.

Learn more about robotics!

Curator: Cassie Bowman Small rover NASA Official: Mark León

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Last updated 02/12/02

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