Matthew Spenko

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 1999

Research Interests

• Electrostatic gecko-like adhesives for climbing, perching, and manipulation
• Navigation integrity for self-driving cars and other mobile robots
• Granular-based soft robots
• Robots for exploring, measuring, and sampling tree biota

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Awards

• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Armour College of Engineering, 2022
• MMAE Excellence in Research Award, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2018
• MMAE Excellence in Teaching Award, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2014 and 2017
• One of 21 Researchers to Know, Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, 2019
• Named a Top Researcher of 2015, ChicagoInno
• IIT/Bauer Family Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, IIT, 2014
• Best Paper, Planetary Rovers Session, Int. Society of Terrain-Vehicle Systems, 2011
• Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship, May-July 2009
• Best Paper Award, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2008
• Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, August 2005-July 2007
• Best Student Paper, IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2007
• Best Paper Finalist, IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2007
• Best Paper, Unmanned Vehicles Session, Army Science Conference, 2006
• Best Conference Paper runner up, Army Science Conference, 2006 

Publications

Google Scholar Citations

Expertise

Control, dynamics, mechanical design, and soft robotics