People

Alan Kuntz, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor/Principal Investigator
Email: alan (dot) kuntz (at) utah (dot) edu
Website

Alan Kuntz is an Assistant Professor in the Kahlert School of Computing and the Robotics Center at the University of Utah, where he leads the Artificial intelligence and Robotics in Medicine (ARM) lab. Prior to joining the University of Utah, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico, and M.S.  and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on healthcare applications of artificial intelligence, design optimization, and robot motion planning.

James Ferguson, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scholar
Email: j (dot) m (dot) ferguson (at) utah (dot) edu

James Ferguson is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah. James received the B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering. His research interests include surgical and continuum robotics, robot estimation and control, and robot learning for healthcare applications.

Brian Cho

Ph.D. Student, Computing: Robotics
Email: briancho (at) cs (dot) utah (dot) edu
Website

Brian Cho is a Ph.D. student in the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah. He began his Ph.D. studies in the fall of 2020 in the Robotics track. Prior to his Ph.D. studies, he was a researcher in the Center for Intelligent and Interactive Robotics at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Hanyang University, focusing on robotics and reinforcement learning. His research interests include surgical robot automation, task and motion planning, and AI for robots.

Bao Thach

Ph.D. Student, Computing: Robotics
Email: baothach (at) cs (dot) utah (dot) edu
Co-advisor: Tucker Hermans
Website

Bao Thach is a Ph.D. student in the Kahlert School of Computing. Before joining the University of Utah, Bao spent four years at Texas Christian University where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with highest distinction. Bao is broadly interested in robot learning, a field at the intersection of machine learning and robotics. Currently at the U, he focuses his research on surgical robot automation and deformable object manipulation. When not doing research, Bao enjoys playing basketball, ping pong, and swimming.

Emma Pinegar

Ph.D. Student, Robotics
Email: emma (dot) pinegar (at) utah (dot) edu
Co-advisor: Jake Abbott
Website

Emma is a Robotics Ph.D. student at the University of Utah. She received a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2024 and a B.S. in Computer Science in 2021, both from the University of Utah. Emma is primarily interested in medical and rehabilitation robotics. Her research currently focuses on motion planning for magnetically steerable needles and untethered magnetic screws. Her hobbies include biking, swimming, baking, and assembling puzzles.

Jordan Thompson

Ph.D. Student, Computing: Robotics
Email: jordan (dot) thompson (at) utah (dot) edu
Co-advisor: Daniel Brown
Website

Jordan Thompson is a Ph.D. student in the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah. He received his B.A. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics in 2022 from Augustana College. His research interests include surgical robot automation and uncertainty quantification for learned models.

Tanner Watts

PhD. Student, Robotics

Tanner Watts is a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah studying robotics. Tanner’s research is focused on creating and implementing computer vision algorithms to solve challenging medical obstacles.

Britton Jordan

Ph.D. Student, Robotics
Email: britton (dot) jordan (at) utah (dot) edu

Britton Jordan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Robotics at the University of Utah. His research focuses on the development of robust and explainable methods for robotic surgical tasks. Outside of school you'll find Britton playing soccer, spending time with family, or learning about the world through travel and study.

Joe Liechty

Ph.D. Student, Robotics
Email: joe (dot) liechty (at) utah (dot) edu
Website

Joe is a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah studying robotics and AI. He is interested in reasoning about manipulation tasks and in cool demos. Joe has B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University and The University of Utah respectively. Joe also worked as an IT engineer for the BYU Law School. His goals are to design, build, and deploy collaborative robots in workplaces and to help people be more excited about humans and robots working together. Joe also enjoys skiing, surfing, good movies, and traveling.

Shing Hei Ho

M.S. Student, Computing

Shing Hei Ho is an undergraduate pursuing a M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Utah. Shing Hei is interested in AI and robotics. Outside of school, he enjoys playing basketball, badminton, ping pong and drawing.

Alex Leavitt

B.S. Student, Applied Mathematics and Computer Engineering

Alex Leavitt is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah. She is interested in the medical applications of machine learning and robotics. Outside of research, she enjoys painting and playing the violin.

Jack Koster

B.S. Student, Computer Science

Jack is a computer science undergraduate. His interests lie in utilizing robotics, computer vision, and AI to solve complex problems. Outside of school he enjoys hunting, fishing, golfing and spending time with his fiancé and their families.

Simon Padgen

B.S. Student, Honors Computer Science

Simon is an undergraduate student at the University of Utah pursing a B.S. in Computer Science and is part of the Honors program at the U. He is interested in AI and robotics and their applications in a number of fields, including medicine. Some of his hobbies include gardening, baking, and tabletop gaming.

Daniel Esser

Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
Email: Daniel (dot) S (dot) Esser (at) Vanderbilt (dot) edu

Daniel Esser is pursuing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, and is currently visiting the University of Utah to engage in collaborative research. Daniel was awarded the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Post-Graduate Fellowship for his research on the design, modeling, and control of soft robotic systems. He is interested in model and data-driven methods to enhance the capabilities of soft robotics, particularly in safety-critical applications like surgical robotics. He received the BASc degree in Engineering Science (robotics specialization) with Honours. Outside of research, Daniel enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, biking, rock climbing, and skiing.