On August 10th, 2022, the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents (BOR) announced the recipients of their highest academic recognition award, the titles of Regents Faculty and Regents Researcher. Of the 12 Georgia Tech Faculty and Researchers recognized, Dr. Stephen Balakirsky was honored with a First-Time Appointment as Regents’ Researcher.

Balakirsky is the Chief Scientist for the Aerospace, Transportation & Advanced Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), and a Core Faculty Member of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, an Interdisciplinary Research Institute at Georgia Tech.

Dr. Balakirsky’s research interests include robotic architectures, planning, bio-automation, robotic standards, and autonomous systems testing. His work in knowledge driven robotics couples real-time sensors and knowledge repositories to allow for flexibility and agility in robotic systems ranging from assembly and manufacturing systems to surveillance and logistics systems.

Previously, Dr. Balakirsky worked as a project manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and was a senior research engineer at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). At ARL, Dr. Balakirsky performed mobile robotics research in several areas, including command and control, mapping, human-computer interfaces, target tracking, vision processing and tele-operated control.

About the Award: Regents’ Professorships and Regents’ Researcher titles may be granted for a period of three years by the Board of Regents to outstanding faculty members of Georgia Tech, Augusta University, Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, and, in special circumstances, other USG institutions.

- Christa M. Ernst

Aerospace, Transportation & Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATAS)

Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines

• See the Full List of Regents Awardees from Georgia Tech at this Press Release