CV

link to .pdf version of CV

link to .pdf version of Resume

Education

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, 2015
• M.S. in Robotics, Oregon State University, 2018
• Ph.D in Robotics, Oregon State University, 2020 (expected)

Research Experience

• Sep 2015 - Present: Doctoral Research Assistant
  • Oregon State University
  • Worked on algorithms and techniques for improving path realizability for robotic systems. I have specifically looked at optimization based methods for low actuation vehicles in strong disturbances and reinfocement based learning methods for combining planning and control.
  • Supervisor: Professor Geoff Hollinger

Work Experience

• March 2019 - Present: Oregon State University, Robotics Seminar TA
  • Managed the robotics seminar by coordinating travel and visit schedules
  • Communicated with a wide variety of parties to ensure a smooth presentation
• June 2013 - Sep 2013 + Aug 2014 - Apr 2015: New England Hydropower Company, Intern + Site Designer
  • Created a parameterized model of a hydropower generator to allow for quicker installation site modeling
  • Interacted with both clients and governmental agencies to obtain information about installation sites
• Sep 2011 - May 2015: Pachyderm Creations, Data Manager and Developer
  • Managed data input and used that data to create visually pleasing Microsoft Excel workbooks
• Jun 2014 - Aug 2014: Parker Chromerics, Intern
  • Tested materials for both physical and EMI shielding properties using ASTM standards
  • Designed and tested processing parameters and procedures for extrusion machinery on a manufacturing floor

Awards

• 2016 - NSF GRFP Honorable Mention
• 2015 - O’Leary Design Award for Top Senior Design Project
• 2014 - Daniel V. Byrne, E76, Endowed Scholarship
• 2013 - Daniel V. Byrne, E76, Endowed Scholarship
• 2012 Frank T. Lewis Scholarship

Skills

• Programming
  • Python
  • C++
  • MATLAB
  • ROS
• Software
  • MATLAB
  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • AutoCAD
  • Solidworks

Publications

Ocean Deployment and Testing of a Semi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

N. Lawrance, T. Somers, D. Jones, S. McCammon and G. Hollinger, "Ocean deployment and testing of a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle," in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation Workshop on Marine Robot Localization and Navigation (ICRA), Stockholm, Sweden, May 2016.

Real-Time Stochastic Optimization for Energy-Efficient Trajectories

D. Jones and G. Hollinger, "Real-time stochastic optimization for energy-efficient trajectories," in Proc. Robotics: Science and Systems Conference Workshop on Robot-Environment Interaction for Perception and Manipulation (RSS), Ann Arbor, MI, June 2016.

Ocean Deployment and Testing of a Semi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

N. Lawrance, T. Somers, D. Jones, S. McCammon and G. Hollinger, "Ocean deployment and testing of a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle," in Proc. IEEE/MTS OCEANS Conference, Monterey, CA, Sept. 2016.

Bin-dog: A Robotic Platform for Bin Management in Orchards

Y. Ye, Z. Wang, D. Jones, L. He, M. Taylor, G. Hollinger, and Q. Zhang, "Bin-dog: A robotic platform for bin management in orchards", Robotics, vol. 6, no. 2, article 12, May 2017

Planning Energy-Efficient Trajectories in Strong Disturbances

D. Jones and G. Hollinger, "Planning energy-efficient trajectories in strong disturbances" IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 2080-2087, Oct. 2017

Orchard Manoeuvring Strategy for a Robotic Bin-Handling Machine

Y. Ye, L. He, Z. Wang, D. Jones, G. Hollinger, M. Taylor, and Q. Zhang, "Orchard manoeuvring strategy for a robotic bin-handling machine," Biosystems Engineering, vol. 169, pp. 85-103, May 2018

Stochastic Optimization for Autonomous Vehicles with Limited Control Authority

D. Jones, M. Kuhlman, D. Sofge, S. Gupta, and G. Hollinger, "Stochastic optimization for autonomous vehicles with limited control authority," in Proc. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Madrid, Spain, Oct. 2018

Shared Autonomy for Low-Cost Underwater Vehicles

N. Lawrance, R. DeBortoli, D. Jones, S. McCammon, L. Milliken, A. Nicolai, T. Somers and G. Hollinger, "Shared autonomy for low-cost underwater vehicles," Journal of Field Robotics, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 495-516, May 2019

Topology-Aware Self-Organizing Maps for Robotic Information Gathering

S. McCammon, D. Jones and G. Hollinger, "Topology-Aware Self-Organizing Maps for Robotic Information Gathering," Under Review for IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2020

Coordinating Underwater Vehicle Teams to Conduct Large-Scale Geospatial Tasks

M. Kuhlman, D. Jones, D. Sofge, G. Hollinger and S. Gupta, "Coordinating Underwater Vehicle Teams to Conduct Large-Scale Geospatial Tasks," Under Review in Journal of Ocean Engineering

Service and Leadership

• 2018, 2019 - Safety Inspector / Design Judge for Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition
• 2017 - 2020 - Grad Student Host for Prospective Grad Students
• Tufts Admission Interviewer
• Tufts Tau Beta Pi secretary
• Tufts Engineering Mentors founding member
• Tufts Club Soccer Team Captain
• Tufts Board Game Club Treasurer and Founding Member