Bio

Prior to the Ambizione James was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Robot Learning & Interaction Group and the Human-centered Robotics and AI group at the Idiap Research Institute, working on manipulation research under the direction of Dr. Sylvain Calinon and Dr. Emmanuel Senft. One of his primary projects was related to solid sampling for automated chemistry in collaboration with Swiss Cat+ at EPFL. Prior to this, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Learning Algorithms and Systems (LASA) Laboratory at EPFL, under the supervision of Professor Aude Billard.

James earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT as part of the Newman Laboratory, where he conducted research under the guidance of Professor Neville Hogan. His dissertation research investigated human physical interaction during circularly constrained motion–turning a crank. The focus of his work was to understand fundamentals about how humans manage physical interaction to improve rehabilitation and robotics.

Originally from Wisconsin, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with an Honors in Research at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2016. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics lab of Professor Darryl Thelen where he helped in the design and testing of a novel sensor for measuring tendon stress. James is especially interested in research that will aid individuals with disabilities.

Outside of research James enjoys rock climbing, ski touring, and working on projects. As a graduate student he was heavily involved with the MIT Outing Club (MITOC) and MakerWorkShop.