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Joseph Corbett-Davies from Napier received a 2015 Fulbright Science and Innovation Award. He is using it to complete a PhD in Mechanical Engineering researching algorithms for control and planning in robotic systems at Cornell University in New York State. Joseph graduated with a BE (Hons) in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Canterbury in 2014.
My gateway orientation in Reno, Nevada was a fantastic way to meet Fulbrighters and Renoites alike, and visit interesting and beautiful places such as Lake Tahoe and Virginia City.
Since arriving at Cornell I have been hard at work with a jam-packed, but incredibly useful, class schedule, and navigating the process of advisor matching for my research.
Recently I was matched with Professor Mark Campbell and his Autonomous Systems Lab, where I will be researching emergency motion planning for self-driving cars.
I am looking forward to playing with “Skynet”, Cornell’s $1m autonomous car, in the near future!
Cornell’s self-driving car ‘Skynet’ (image sourced from here)
I have also been keeping up with Cornell’s acappella scene, attending interesting seminars, and playing intramural volleyball.
Our first-year PhD class is a great bunch of international students, upstate locals, and people from all across the US. We have been making the most of the beautiful Summer and Autumn to hike nearby state parks to see why Ithaca is so (as the saying goes) “gorges”!
Joseph (back row, far right) pictured on a hike with classmates
Even Cornell’s campus has breathtaking gorges, lakes, natural areas, and vistas of Cayuga Lake below, so my bike ride to the office is never boring.
The Fulbright Science & Innovation Graduate Awards are for promising New Zealand graduate students to undertake postgraduate study or research at US institutions in fields targeted to support growth and innovation in New Zealand. Applications close 1 August annually.