PhD Candidate
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Office: 31-219M
plasota@mit.edu

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the Interactive Robotics Group at MIT. My research focuses on developing robotic systems capable of safe and efficient close-proximity human-robot interaction through robust and generalizable prediction of human motion. I am currently collaborating with the Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center as an NSTRF fellow.

I received my Master’s from MIT Aero Astro in 2014. My thesis focused on developing safety systems for standard industrial robots and investigating the benefits of human-aware motion planning, a robot motion planning method which uses prediction of workspace occupancy to plan paths which avoid motion conflicts.

Prior to starting my graduate studies at MIT, I received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University, where I researched concepts for construction of primary bases on the Moon and Mars as part of the NJSGC/NASA Summer Research Fellowship program and as a member of the Manned Space Exploration group.