4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 82-111D
Jacob is a robotics technologist and group lead at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jacob is the Principal Investigator of JPL's Venus Variable Altitude Aerobots task, developing the technology for long duration buoyant flight in the Venus cloudlayer. His other tasks at JPL bridge the interface between fluid dynamics and robotics, including the design of planetary rotorcraft and underwater vehicles.
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Franklin W. Olin College, 2011
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Robotics Technologist, Aug 2017-Present
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Assistant, Sept 2011 - June 2017
Tesla Motors, Quality Engineering Intern, June 2011 - Aug 2011
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Summer Student Fellow, June 2010 - Aug 2010
Jacob maintains research interests in unsteady flows, aerial/underwater robotics, and mechanical design. His thesis work investigated the fluid dynamics and control of flapping wings.