Alan Papalia
Robotics | SLAM | Climate
Postdoc @ Northeastern
Incoming Faculty @ University of Michigan
I am actively recruiting PhD students for the upcoming year. See the information on my Join Us page for how to reach out if you are interested in working with me. I also welcome inquiries from prospective postdocs, and University of Michigan undergrads.
A bit about me
I am an incoming Assistant Professor to the University of Michigan. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University, working with Hanu Singh and Michael Everett on robotic navigation. I received my PhD in 2024 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, where I was lucky to work with John Leonard.
My research develops algorithms and systems that enable robots to explore and monitor challenging environments, with a particular focus on underwater environments. We work on the tools that will allow future robots to autonomously study and understand the natural world.
Honors and awards
- 2025 Robotics: Science and Systems Pioneer
- 2024 Transactions on Robotics King-Sun Fu Best Paper Award
- MathWorks Fellow
- Woods Hole Next Wave Fellow
- Undersea Technology Innovation Scholar
Roadmap for Climate Robotics
If you’re interested in the future of robotics and how it can help us understand, mitigate, and adapt to climate change, check out this paper I was lucky to lead with a group of amazing colleagues!