- Over twenty years of R&D experience in autonomous systems, developing/embedding adaptive, learning and evolvable hardware techniques into electronics and intelligent information systems, for applications ranging from measurement equipment to space avionics to robotics.
- Contributed pioneering work in new fields (humanoid learning by imitation, evolvable hardware, survivable self-reconfigurable electronics for extreme environments), invented new concepts (polymorphic electronics, cognitive anti-tamper techniques) and took them to hardware demonstration.
- Recognized authority in adaptive and evolvable hardware
- Over 100 papers, 5 awarded patents, general chair of four conferences, and plenary speaker at more than 10 international conferences.
-Visiting Professor, University of Edinburgh, since 2004 (prior academic involvements include Assistant Professor University of Iasi, Romania, 1991-1992, Adjunct Professor University of Queensland, Australia, 2003-2006)
- Member of various advisory and review boards for US government agencies, Canada, UK, Norway and European Commission. He is part of the European Commissions ISTAG Working Group on Future and Emerging Technologies (FET), which provides strategic advice and orientations on long term foundational research in the area of Information and Communication Technology.

- PhD, Electrical Engineering, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, 1996, (Thesis in robot learning: "Motion learning by robot apprentices- a fuzzy neural approach")
- MS, Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Iasi, Romania, 1986

- R&D since 1986, at JPL since 1996. Lead a variety of research projects for NASA, DARPA, USAF, DTAO, BMDO, etc., developing new technology solutions in areas ranging from evolvable hardware for survivable systems to humanoid robots for planetary surface operations.
- Principal Member of Technical Staff (2002), Senior Research Scientist (2007), Group Supervisor (2008).

Autonomous systems, human-centered robots and systems, machine/robot learning, artificial/computational intelligence/cognition, human-robot collaboration, teaching/fostering robots, humanoids, household/service robotics, advanced electronics (secure electronics, high-performance electronics, electronics for harsh radiation/temperature environments) biometrics, adaptive and evolvable hardware and systems, anti-aging technologies, foresight and strategic R&D planning

JPL Lew Allen Award for Excellence, 1999.
Information Technology Prize of Romanian Academy of Science, 2001.