🤖 UW Robotics From the Kickoff Retreat to the First Lab
It’s exciting to see the UW College of Engineering’s new Master of Science in Robotics and Graduate Certificate in Applied Robotics move from planning into the classroom and lab. After years of work with colleagues across the college, we’ve welcomed our first cohort—and students are already simulating and operating robots!
Our September 15 kickoff retreat brought faculty, students, academic leaders and industry collaborators together on the Seattle campus. I moderated the Academic Pathways Panel, where three department chairs from Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering discussed the courses and expertise students can draw on across engineering. Other engineering departments also lent support and insight. The retreat also opened the next phase of our robotics research visioning effort, with conversations about how UW’s strengths can come together around shared research priorities.
On October 1, students began Modern Robotic Systems I (ENGR 550). Ashis Banerjee, Karen Leung, Dieter Fox and I teach its four modules, connecting mathematical foundations and robot modeling with probability, planning and localization. As program director, I coordinate the course and its alignment with the curriculum ahead.
The first Modern Robotic Systems I class on October 1, 2026.
The first lab followed immediately after the lecture, with students working alongside classmates and the teaching team on robots and computers. Seeing that work begin means a great deal to me. I believe great roboticists are made at the intersection of theory and practice, and this first week gave us a chance to start putting that belief into action.
Learning together in the first robotics lab.
I’m grateful to the colleagues, staff, industry collaborators and students who helped bring these programs to life.
Read more:
📰 UW Engineering News: UW Engineering launches robotics programs
📰 UW ME News: Collaborating on the future of robotics
🎙️ And a bit of the behind-the-scenes: GeekWire: Robotics talent crunch has UW’s new grad program nearly full before day one
Interested in studying robotics at UW? Explore the master’s degree and graduate certificate.
