Dr. Quan Nguyen

Biography

Quan Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering and the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2017, where he was honored with the Doctoral Dissertation Award. Before joining USC, he was a Postdoctoral Associate at the Biomimetic Robotics Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests encompass highly dynamic robotics and the application of control optimization approaches, particularly in the context of nonlinear control, trajectory optimization, and real-time optimization-based control. Nguyen's work on the bipedal robot ATRIAS has been highlighted in notable publications such as IEEE Spectrum and TechCrunch. His contributions to the MIT Cheetah 3 robot, which includes dynamic leaping capabilities, have garnered attention from major media outlets including CNN and BBC. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he has received several awards, including the Charles Lee Powell Foundation Faculty Research Award in 2020 and was a Systems Paper Award Finalist at the Robotics: Science & Systems conference in 2017. He has been an influential figure in presenting at various prestigious conferences, further establishing himself as a leader in robotic locomotion research.

Research Interests

Awards