My research broadly explores healthcare robotics, with an emphasis on empowering older adults and people with disabilities to live more independently and maintain a higher quality of life. My research lies at the intersection of physically assistive robotics, learning, physics simulation, haptic perception, and human-robot interaction. I am especially interested in physical human-robot interaction, and I focus on developing methods that enable robotic caregivers to intelligently interact with and assist people. Much of my work explores how robots can leverage physics-based simulation, perception, and learning to more efficiently and safely assist people with physical impairments to perform activities of daily living. I also develop new sensors and techniques for robots to better track and interact with the human body. I take a human-centric perspective towards many of these goals and I am inspired by robots learning and exhibiting common sense around people.

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