Bill Smart

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Office: 
316 Graf Hall
Phone: 
541.737.0670
Fax: 
541.737.2600
Email: 
bill.smart@oregonstate.edu

Robotics

Education:

  • PhD, Computer Science, Brown University, 2002
  • ScM, Computer Science, Brown University, 1996
  • MSc, Intelligent Robotics, University of Edinburgh, 1992
  • BSc, Computer Science, University of Dundee, 1991

Background:

  • At OSU since 2012
  • Creative Research Institute Fellow, 2011–12, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Visiting Research Scientist 2010–11, Willow Garage, Inc
  • Associate Professor, 2009–12, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Assistant Professor 2001–09, Washington University in St. Louis

Research Interests:

Dr. Smart does research in the areas of robotics and machine learning. In robotics, Smart is particularly interested in improving the interactions between people and robots; enabling robots to be self-sufficient for weeks and months at a time; and determining how they can be used as personal assistants for people with severe motor disabilities. In machine learning, Smart is interested in developing strategies for teaching robots to act effectively (or even optimally), based on long-term interactions with the world and given intermittent and at times incorrect  feedback on their performance.