Purdue University Colleges of Science, Engineering, and Agriculture together with the Purdue Office of Industry Partnerships and Purdue Polytechnic Institute proudly present Robotics Day, a campus-wide celebration of innovation, collaboration, and discovery in robotics. This event brings together industry leaders, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students to explore the rapidly evolving world of robotics and its impact on our future.
9:00-9:20 Opening Remarks
9:20-10:00 From Chips to Autonomy - Bridging the Hardware Gap to Physical AI
10:00-10:30 Lightning Talk Session 1: Robotics In Practice
10:30-12:30 Expo
12:30-1:30 Lunch & Purdue Robotics Highlights: Refuel, connect, and take in highlights of Purdue’s robotics ecosystem during a relaxed lunch break. This session offers a curated snapshot of robotics activity across colleges, institutes, and initiatives—showcasing the depth, breadth, and interdisciplinary talent driving innovation at Purdue.
1:30-3:00 Poster Showcase
3:00-4:00 Lightning Talk Session 2: From Lab to Launch - Robotics in the Real World
4:00-5:00 Lightning Talk Session 3: Purdue Robotics - Where Ideas Take Motion
5:00-7:00 Closing Reception
5:15- 6:15 Industry Panel: Next Wave of Robotics Innovation
6:15-7:00 Networking & Poster Award Presentation
Robotics Day March 26th
Opening Remarks (9:00–9:20)
Purdue Robotics Day opens with remarks from Purdue University President Mung Chiang, setting the stage for a day focused on innovation, impact, and collaboration. His welcome underscores Purdue’s role as a national leader in robotics research, workforce development, and industry partnership.
Keynote (9:20–10:00)
The keynote offers a big-picture view of where robotics is headed and why this moment matters. Grounded in real-world perspective, it frames the opportunities—and responsibilities—shaping the next era of robotics innovation and adoption.
Lightning Talk Session 1: Robotics in Practice (10:00–10:30)
This opening lightning session brings robotics straight into the real world, moving seamlessly from large-scale industry deployment to startup-driven innovation. Featuring an industry leader alongside a Purdue student-founded startup, the session highlights how ideas move from enterprise practice to entrepreneurial execution—setting the tone for a day that continually bridges application and invention.
Demo / Expo (10:30–12:30)
Step into robotics in motion. The Demo & Expo brings Purdue’s research to life with hands-on demonstrations, real-world testbeds, and cutting-edge systems that show how theory becomes impact across manufacturing, mobility, autonomy, healthcare, and beyond.
Lunch & Purdue Robotics Highlights (12:30–1:30)
Refuel, connect, and get inspired by Purdue’s academic leadership as they spotlight the university’s robotics strengths across colleges, institutes, and initiatives. This session highlights the depth, breadth, and interdisciplinary nature of Purdue’s robotics ecosystem and the talent powering it.
Poster Session (1:30–3:00)
Discover the next wave of robotics innovation through posters from students, postdocs, and researchers across Purdue. This session showcases emerging ideas, interdisciplinary collaborations, and rising talent, offering a window into what’s coming next.
Lightning Talk Session 2: From Lab to Launch – Robotics in the Real World (3:00–4:00)
What does it take to move robotics from controlled environments into real-world deployment? This industry-focused session dives into the technical, operational, and adoption challenges that arise beyond the lab—and the lessons learned while scaling robotics in complex, unstructured settings.
Lightning Talk Session 3: Purdue Robotics – Where Ideas Take Motion (4:00–5:00)
This Purdue-focused session highlights the breadth of robotics innovation across the university, from AI and humanoids to micro-robots, manipulation, agriculture, and beyond. Together, these talks show how bold ideas at Purdue translate into real systems with real impact.
Closing Reception (5:00–7:00)
Industry Panel: The Next Wave of Robotics Innovation
This high-energy panel brings together leaders from industry to explore the next wave of robotics innovation and the real challenges slowing adoption today. Panelists will discuss where current solutions fall short, how cutting-edge academic research can help close those gaps, and what industry needs next from research to accelerate deployment and impact.
Networking & Poster Award Presentation
Close the day by celebrating standout contributions from the poster session and continuing conversations sparked throughout Robotics Day. This final session brings together researchers, students, and industry partners to connect, reflect, and look ahead.
Keynote:
Graham Schelle, Fellow in Research and Advanced Development, AMD
Speakers:
Tyson Clemmer, Senior Director, Global Robotics Eli Lilly
Archer Lin, CEO & Co-Founder, Vibe Robotics
Committee Member (Ziran) Introduces the Expo
Sarah Andrzejewski, Product Manager Software Solutions, Yaskawa
John Gideon, Research Scientist, Toyota Research Institute
Fan Wang, Software Engineer, Amazon Robotics
Paul Backes, Robotic Mobility & Manipulation Group Supervisor, JPL
Industry Panel:
Devesh Upadhyay, Chief Technology Officer, Saab
Scot Lindsey, SVP Information Office, Manufacturing & Quality, Eli Lilly
Will Hirschfeld, Innovation Project Manager, Beck’s Hybrids
Purdue West Lafayette is very walkable, and the Union Club Hotel in the Purdue Memorial Union is a convenient on-campus location for overnight visitors.
There are a variety of other lodging options in the Greater Lafayette area — some within walking distance. Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette is a great resource to locate nearby hotels, campgrounds and vacation rentals to fit your needs.
|
Shaoshuai Mou |
Elmer Bruhn Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
|
Shreyas Sundaram |
Marie Gordon Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Courtesy Appointment) Co-Director, Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks Purdue University |
|
Ziran Wang |
Assistant Professor, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering & Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (by courtesy) Assistant Director, Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON) |
|
Yan Gu |
Associate Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering Director of Terrain Robotics Advanced Control and Experimentation (TRACE) Lab |
|
Yu She |
Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering Director of the Purdue Mechanisms And Robotic Systems (MARS) Lab |
|
Aniket Bera |
Associate Professor in Computer Science Director, IDEAS Lab, Purdue University IEEE RA-L Senior Editor (Planning and Simulation) |
|
Dongming Gan |
Fellow of ASME, SM of IEEE Associate Professor Polytechnic Institute |
Learn more about the event. Contact us.
Purdue University College of Science
Purdue University College of Engineering
A huge thank you to our sponsors for making 2026 Robotics Day possible.
A robot “dog” may soon make its way from a Purdue entomology lab to fetch real-time data on tick populations in the wild.
It’s just one example of how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming medical entomology by offering innovative ways to track, analyze and control the insect populations that affect human, animal and environmental health.
