PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Galip Ulsoy

Galip Ulsoy is a mechanical engineering researcher whose work includes control systems and robotics. He earned engineering degrees at Swarthmore, Cornell and Berkeley, then joined the University of Michigan faculty, where he chaired mechanical engineering from 1998 to 2001. He coauthored a 1983 paper on adaptive control of machine tools and received ASME’s Oldenburger Medal in 2008, the TÜBİTAK Special Award in 2012, and IEEE Fellowship in 2014. As of October 2026, he is a distinguished professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, with research interests in vehicle and robot control.

Timeline

  1. 1973–1979

    Three engineering degrees

    He earns a B.S. in engineering at Swarthmore in 1973, an M.S. in mechanical engineering at Cornell in 1975, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Berkeley in 1979, with a thesis on bandsaw-blade vibration.

  2. 1980–1992

    Michigan faculty and adaptive control

    He joins the University of Michigan’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor in 1980, becomes associate professor in 1986 and full professor in 1992. In 1983, he coauthors “Principal Developments in the Adaptive Control of Machine Tools” with Yoram Koren and Fred Rasmussen.

  3. 1998–2001

    Chairing mechanical engineering

    He chairs the University of Michigan’s Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1998 to 2001.

  4. 2006

    National Academy election

    He is elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 for research on the dynamics and control of axially moving elastic materials and their use in automotive and manufacturing systems.

  5. 2008

    Oldenburger Medal

    ASME awards him the 2008 Rufus T. Oldenburger Medal for work on dynamic-systems analysis and control across automotive and manufacturing applications.

  6. 2012

    TÜBİTAK Special Award

    He receives TÜBİTAK’s Special Award in 2012 for research on dynamic systems and automatic control, including applications to manufacturing and automotive systems.

  7. 2014

    IEEE Fellowship

    IEEE names him a Fellow in 2014 for contributions to the control of automotive and manufacturing systems and time-delay systems.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor emeritus at Michigan

    He is the C.D. Mote Jr. Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His interests include vehicle and robot control.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Galip Ulsoy yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Galip Ulsoy - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Rufus Oldenburger Medal - ASME asme.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. TÜBİTAK Bilim, Özel ve Teşvik Ödülleri Açıklandı | TÜBİTAK | Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu tubitak.gov.tr. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. CSS IEEE Fellows Archive | IEEE Control Systems Society ieeecss.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Galip Ulsoy | Robotics Faculty Profile robotics.umich.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.