Chen Li

Chen Li, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and member of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, has been selected by the Army Research Office to receive its prestigious Young Investigator Program award, which recognizes outstanding early-career scientists whose research is relevant to the U.S. Army.

The highly competitive three-year award will provide support for Li’s research “Towards Terradynamics of Dynamic Legged Locomotion in Complex 3-D Terrains,” which focuses on helping scientists better understand how creatures such as lizards and insects traverse complex topographies. The ultimate goal of his terradynamics work is to enable legged robots to successfully navigate challenging terrains, including post-disaster building rubble.