Michael Wolf is a researcher in the Advanced Robotics Controls group at JPL. His current work includes algorithm development for motion planning, target tracking, marine robotics, and biosignal interpretation, with a focus on probabilistic methods.

Dr. Wolf earned his PhD in the robotics laboratory at Caltech, where he collaborated with neuroscientists to originate new methods to autonomously acquire and track neuronal signals. He also conducted research on navigation and obstacle avoidance for semi-autonomous automobiles. Prior to his graduate work, Dr. Wolf gained six years experience in product management and business development at Silicon Valley software companies.

* PhD in Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2008
Thesis in robotics: "Target Tracking Using Clustered Measurements, with Applications to Autonomous Brain-Machine Interfaces"
Minor in Control and Dynamical Systems

* MS in Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2003

* BS in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1997

* Researcher in JPLs Advanced Robotics Controls Group since 2008. Projects include: wind-assisted path planning for Titan hot air balloons; situation awareness for US Navy autonomous surface vehicles; unsupervised heart beat segmentation from noisy ECG signals for operator health monitoring.

* Six years experience in technical consulting, product management, and business development for enterprise software companies.

* Two years as part-time faculty at Art Center College of Design, teaching Robotics

* Probabilistic estimation and learning
* Robot motion planning
* Biological signal analysis and human-machine interfaces
* Underwater and marine robotics
* Medical robotics and neuroprosthetics
* Multitarget tracking

* Best Doctoral Thesis in Mechanical Engineering, Caltech
* Fuchs Prize for Excellence in Design, Stanford