3/6/2015 Lyanne Alfaro
Written by Lyanne Alfaro
The award recognizes a graduate student in the College of Engineering whose work meets the ideals of Ross Martin, a faculty member of the college for 40 years, 26 of which he served as associate dean and director of the Engineering Experiment Station. The award is a tribute to his guidance and to the outstanding research conducted in the college. Cichella's award includes a cash prize and he will receive a plaque at the annual College Faculty Awards Ceremony on April 27.
Prior to arriving at MechSE, Cichella worked on his master’s thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School in California. Today, he works with MechSE professor Naira Hovakimyan’s research team in the Advanced Controls Research Laboratory (ACRL).
Cichella has participated in EURAEXESS Science Slam in Washington, D.C., where he presented some of ACRL’s research in 2013, winning second place for his presentation. He also showcased flying robots that coordinate their paths without running into each other using tango dancing, and was one of the winners for a “Dance Your PhD” contest last fall.
Cichella’s personal research interests include robotic surgery, as well as robust control and cooperative control of multiple unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.