Research Expertise and Interest

artificial intelligence, control theory, robotics, game theory, machine learning

Research Description

Negar Mehr is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on creating algorithms and mathematical models for autonomous systems to interact safely and intelligently with humans and other autonomous systems. As AI advances, robots can handle more complex tasks, and the key to unlocking their full potential lies in their ability to operate safely and intelligently in unstructured environments alongside other agents. Dr. Mehr’s group aims to equip robots with such capabilities. Her research interests lie at the intersection of robotics, control theory, game theory, and machine learning. She has published in top robotics and control journals and conferences. Her research has had applications in various domains including space exploration, autonomous driving, UAVs, and assistive robots. She runs the Intelligent Control (ICON) lab where her group utilizes robotic hardware for verifying and testing their developed control algorithms.

Prior to joining UC Berkeley, she was an assistant professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also affiliated with the Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL) and Electrical and Computer Engineering department at UIUC. Previously, she was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford Aeronautics and Astronautics department from 2019 to 2020. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2019 and her B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2013. She is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award. She was awarded the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems best Ph.D. dissertation award in 2020. Negar was recognized as a rising star in EECS, Aeronautics & Astronautics, and Civil and Environmental Engineering.