Research/Areas of Interest
Ryan's research lies at the intersection of control theory, machine learning, and robotics, with the goal of enabling provably safe and dynamic robot autonomy in uncertain real-world settings. His work bridges theory and practice through the development of risk-aware control frameworks, efficient deployable algorithms, and validation on a wide range of robot platforms. His ultimate goal is to create safety methods that inspire trust and provide us with the confidence needed to deploy high-performance autonomous robots at scale.
**Recruiting new PhD students for admission in Fall 2026.**
Education
- PhD Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, 2025
- MS Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, 2021
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States, 2019
Biography
Ryan K. Cosner is the Glenn R. Stevens Assistant Professor in the Tufts University Department of Mechanical Engineering. Ryan earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2025. He received his M.S. from Caltech in 2021 and B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019, both in Mechanical Engineering. In 2022, he worked with the Autonomous Vehicle Research Group at NVIDIA. His main research interests include nonlinear control and machine learning with applications to dynamic, risk-aware, safety-critical robotics.