Meet the Team

Frank is a fifth-year doctoral candidate at The University of Texas at Austin and is currently completing his dissertation in preparation for graduation. He has over three years of professional engineering experience, including roles as a Mechanical Design and Innovation Engineer at Dow Chemical, a Robotics Systems Engineer at NASA, and a Robotics Software Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. In addition to his academic and industry experience, Frank currently serves as a Robotics & Software Architect Advisory Board Member for SmartCafe. His doctoral research, titled “Human-Robot Interactions via Deictic Commands in Unknown Environments Using Augmented Reality Displays,” focuses on advancing the field of HRI to enable natural and intuitive communication strategies for abstract information from everyday users to robotic systems operating in complex, real-world environments.

Rohan earned his B.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has two years of professional experience as a software engineer, including roles at CCC Intelligent Solutions and research with the Autonomous Guidance, Navigation, and Control Laboratory (AGNC). In Summer 2024, Rohan joined the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG), where he is now a Robotics Research Engineer. His current work combines mixed-reality interaction with human–robot teaming to deliver reliable robotic performance in complex, human-occupied environments.

Arjun earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has one year of experience as a software developer intern at BizCloud Experts, where he also earned an AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate. In the summer of 2025, Arjun joined the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG), where he now serves as a Staff Research Engineer. His current work focuses on advancing human–robot interaction through augmented reality by developing scalable, intuitive control systems for multi-agent robotic platforms and exploring how mixed reality can enhance collaborative autonomy in complex environments.

Ayan earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has one year of experience as a software engineering intern at Harman International and eight months of experience as a quality and reliability engineering intern at AMD. Ayan joined the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG) where he serves as a Research Engineering Scientist Associate. His current work involves developing solutions that advance human-robot interaction frameworks that enhance collaborative autonomy in complex environments.

Mitch brings more than 27 years of engineering experience focused on robotics in hazardous environments, including nuclear facilities, oil and gas, and defense applications. He has taught university courses in robotic programming, mechanical design, and control systems, and currently serves as Principal Investigator of the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG) at UT Austin. Under his leadership, NRG receives over $2M in annual funding and has successfully delivered numerous projects for the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and a wide range of industry partners. Dr. Pryor is also a co-founder and previous advisor of Pike Robotics, a company spun out of NRG.

Jonathan is a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at UT Austin working on skill learning and control strategies for modular robotic systems. His academic background includes an M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA, with a focus in systems, control, and robotics. He brings six years of professional experience as a roboticist developing mobile and manipulator robots, and is a co-founder and advisor to geCKo Materials, a startup commercializing bio-inspired adhesive technologies. His interests span robotics, control theory, reinforcement learning, and game-theoretic methods.