Open Postdoctoral position, faculty mentor Jeannette Bohg

Robot Learning for Manipulation

There is an invisible thread that runs from the mundane details of life, like opening a door or using a toaster, all the way through society's biggest challenges, like health care, scaling manufacturing and disaster relief. That thread is the need to manipulate objects in the physical world. Despite this being such an unassuming and seemingly innate skill, the fundamental principles of how one might unknot a tangled shoelace or pour a glass of cold milk remain woefully unclear. The research done at the Interactive Perception and Robot Learning lab (IPRL) aims to uncover these principles and unlock a future where robots can match humans in learning how to manipulate any deformable, rigid, or articulated object in any situation. 

The postdoctoral fellow will be joining IPRL to perform cutting-edge research that enables robots to learn and improve manipulation skills. This can be by learning from humans, other robots or through autonomous self-improvement. These robots will need to leverage all their different sensors for decision making. Humans will be able to seamlessly instruct these robots or directly collaborate with one or a team of robots.

The fellow will have the opportunity to advise individuals and groups of students and lead them towards successful research results. The fellow will also give guest lectures in Stanford courses as well as presentations and demos to visitors and affiliates groups. The fellow will also help with grant writing to get practiced in the skill of academic fundraising that will be vital for their future career.

Mentorship Structure

The postdoc will be a member of IPRL in the Computer Science Department. Their primary mentor will be Jeannette Bohg, and they will be encouraged to pursue additional collaborations and mentorship at HAI, within Stanford, and beyond. The fellow will also be involved in flagship projects which are large projects led by multiple Stanford faculty and funded through the newly opened Stanford Robotics Center that has partnered with HAI.

Stanford HAI is also committed to creating a diverse community of scholars who are engaged in contributing to the understanding and advancement of Human-Centered AI. Postdoctoral fellows will have the opportunity to engage with one another and with the broader Stanford HAI research community. They are also expected to participate in professional development, cohort-building, and other programmatic activities organized by HAI.

Evaluation Criteria

• Fit to the position.
• Enthusiasm for the research questions.
• Past research accomplishments (including publications and presentations).
• Evidence of their contributions to their current research communities.
• Track record of mentoring more junior scholars.