PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar is a robotics researcher and the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, and his research covers autonomous flight and coordination among multi-robot teams. He studied at IIT Kanpur and Ohio State before joining Penn's faculty, and he then directed the GRASP robotics and perception laboratory. From 2012 to 2014 he served at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on robotics and cyber-physical systems, and in 2015 he became dean of Penn Engineering. In 2017, as founder of the Penn spin-out Exyn Technologies, he called drone AI an order of magnitude more complex than AI for self-driving cars. He received the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award in 2020, and he remains dean, with a term running through June 2027.

Works
798
Citations
42,318
h-index
106

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Vijay Kumar

Timeline

  1. 1987

    A PhD and a Penn post

    After a Bachelor of Technology at IIT Kanpur, he completes his PhD at Ohio State in 1987. He then joins the mechanical engineering faculty at the University of Pennsylvania.

  2. 1998–2004

    Directing the GRASP robotics lab

    He directs the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory from 1998 to 2004. From 2000 to 2004, he also serves as deputy dean for research at Penn Engineering.

  3. 2012–2014

    A White House robotics post

    During a scholarly leave from 2012 to 2014, he serves as assistant director for robotics and cyber-physical systems at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

  4. 2013

    Election to the National Academy

    He is elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2013.

  5. 2015–2021

    Dean of Penn Engineering

    He becomes dean of Penn Engineering in 2015. In 2021 he is reappointed to the post.

  6. 2017

    AI for autonomous drones

    He founds Exyn Technologies, a Penn spin-out that develops fully autonomous aerial robots. In 2017 he calls the AI that lets drones understand their environment an order of magnitude more complex than the AI for self-driving cars.

  7. 2020

    An IEEE Robotics and Automation award

    He receives the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award in 2020. In a March 2020 interview, he discusses coordination, cooperation, and collaboration in multi-robot systems. His group works on creating autonomous ground and aerial robots and on robot swarms.

  8. As of October 2026

    Still Penn Engineering's dean

    In March 2026 he is still the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, and his current term runs through June 2027.

Sources and credits

Photo: kumarrobotics.org; Dr. Vijay Kumar : Vijay Kumar Lab; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: kumarrobotics.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Vijay Kumar (roboticist) - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Vijay Kumar | IEEE Control Systems Society ieeecss.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Vijay Kumar: Dean of Penn Engineering - Almanac, Vol. 61, No. 26 almanac.upenn.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Vijay Kumar Reappointed Dean of Penn Engineering engineering.upenn.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Exyn Technologies, founded by Dr. Vijay Kumar, raises $6.8m in partnership with Uniformity Labs ptolemy.berkeley.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Exyn unveils AI to help drones fly autonomously, even indoors or off the grid techcrunch.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration, with Vijay Kumar ieee-ras.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Penn Engineering to Host India Technology Forum in Mumbai seas.upenn.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. School Leadership | Penn Engineering seas.upenn.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.