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Biography

Nicholas Lawrance is a senior research scientist in the Robotic Autonomy team of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group at CSIRO Data61. His research focuses on machine learning and robot autonomy algorithms for adaptive modelling, decision-making and planning in complex and uncertain environments. Applications include aerial and underwater domains, particularly for long-duration robotic missions. Nick completed his PhD at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, Australia (2011) and worked as a postdoctoral scholar in the Robotic Decision Making Laboratory at Oregon State University, USA (2013-2017). He was a senior researcher in the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich, Switzerland from 2018 to 2022.

Other Interests

Understanding and modelling wind for applications such as soaring (gaining energy from the wind) with fixed-wing aerial vehicles

Academic Qualifications

  • 2011

    PhD
    The University of Sydney

Professional Experiences

  • 2018-2022

    Senior Researcher
    Autonomous Systems Lab, ETH Zurich

  • 2014-2017

    Postdoctoral Research Scholar
    Robotic Decision Making Laboratory, Oregon State University