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.

Brian Cho

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

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, Mechanical Engineering: Robotics
Co-advisor: Jake Abbott

Emma is a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student in the Robotics track at the University of Utah. Prior to graduate school she received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Utah and researched computer vision and object reconstruction. Emma is primarily interested in medical and rehabilitation robotics. Her research currently focuses on magnetically steerable needles. Her hobbies including biking, swimming, baking, and assembling puzzles.

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.

Ryan Lam

B.S./M.S. Student, Computing

Ryan Lam is a BS/MS student in the Kahlert School of Computing with an interest in robotics and AI. Outside of school, he enjoys PC gaming, board games, and tabletop RPGs.

Shing Hei Ho

B.S. Student, Computing

Shing Hei Ho is an undergraduate pursuing a B.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.

Tanner Watts

B.S. Student, Applied Mathematics and Computer Science

Tanner Watts is an undergraduate student at the University of Utah pursuing a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. Tanner’s research is focused on creating and implementing computer vision algorithms to solve challenging medical obstacles.

Britton Jordan

B.S. Student, Computer Science

Britton Jordan is an undergraduate student at the University of Utah pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science. His research focuses on novel robotic designs for medical surgery. Outside of school you'll find Britton playing soccer, spending time with family, or learning about the world through travel and study.

Alumni

Ph.D. Students:

Michael Bentley, Ph.D. Computing: Robotics, First Position: Senior Software Engineer, Motional

Sarvenaz Chaeibakhsh, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering: Robotics (co-advised with Andrew Merryweather), First Position: Data Scientist at First Republic Bank

M.S. Students:

Rahul Thomas Benny, M.S. Computing, First Position: Software Engineer, AI/Robotics at Altitude AI

B.S. Students:

Olivia Richards, B.S. Mechanical Engineering, First Position: Ph.D. Student, Vanderbilt University

Aidan Copinga, B.S. Applied Mathematics, First Position: Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Jiawen Song, B.S. Computing, First Position: M.S. Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Qianlang Chen, B.S. Computing, First Position: M.S. Student, UC San Diego

Trevor Schwehr, B.S. Mechanical Engineering, First Position: Ph.D. Student, Johns Hopkins University

Laura Brannon, B.S. Computing, First Position: Software Engineer, Apple