Emma Pinegar

I’m a third year PhD student studying Robotics at the University of Utah. I earned my MS in Mechanical Engineering in Spring 2024 and BS in Computer Science in Fall 2021, both from the University of Utah. I love robots and can be a bit of a visualization nerd but I’m proud of it. Outside of my academic pursuits, I enjoy biking (mostly road and gravel), swimming (mostly in pools, I got attacked by a swan when I was swimming in Lake Lucerne), baking, puzzling, mending and making clothes, going for walks and hikes, petting every dog I can, being a silly goose, and reading (or listening to) a good book. I have lots of other hobbies I want to try more like kayaking, sailing, bikepacking, and knitting.

Experience

I am currently a graduate research assistant working on motion planning for magnetically steerable needles and untethered magnetic screws. I have previously TA’d the graduate level AI course and Introduction to Robotics course (twice) at the University of Utah. I am advised by Professors Alan Kuntz and Jake Abbott working on my research in steerable needles and screws. I am also in charge of outreach for the Kuntz Lab, please contact me if you are interested in a lab tour. I am primarily focusing on robotics applications that help treat medical conditions or improve the quality of life of disabled persons. As an undergraduate I worked with Dr. Tucker Hermans researching 3D reconstruction methods that could be applied to several computer vision tasks.

Projects

I have worked on several projects recently, the most notable being:

Publications

Presentations

Coursework

Awards & Honors