Dr. Angela Schoellig stands as a preeminent figure in robotics and artificial intelligence whose career bridges German and North American academic excellence. Angela Schoellig became an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) in 2020 and currently maintains this role alongside her primary appointment as Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the Technical University of Munich since 2022. Originally from Germany, where she graduated as valedictorian from her high school in Backnang near Stuttgart, she earned a Master of Science in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007 and from the University of Stuttgart in Engineering Cybernetics. Her academic journey culminated with a doctoral degree from ETH Zurich under the supervision of Raffaello D'Andrea, after which she joined the University of Toronto faculty in 2013 and progressively earned recognition through a Canada Research Chair in 2019 and promotion to associate professor in 2020 before accepting her current dual appointments.
Professor Schoellig's research fundamentally transforms robotic systems through the innovative integration of machine learning with control theory, particularly advancing autonomous flight capabilities for quadcopters and other aerial vehicles. Her pioneering work enables robots to learn not only from their own past experiences but also from coordination with other robotic systems, significantly enhancing their performance, safety, and operational autonomy in complex environments. This groundbreaking approach has yielded practical applications in both aerial robotics and autonomous vehicle technology, as evidenced by her leadership of the University of Toronto team that achieved unprecedented success as four-time consecutive winners of the North-American SAE AutoDrive Challenge from 2018 to 2021. Her doctoral research at ETH Zurich earned the distinguished ETH Medal and Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation Award, establishing the foundation for her ongoing contributions to reliable learning systems that interact seamlessly with the physical world.
As a recognized thought leader in her field, Professor Schoellig shapes the future of robotics through multiple influential roles including her position as a Faculty Member of the Vector Institute in Toronto and her previous service as principal investigator for the NSERC Canadian Robotics Network. Her exceptional contributions have been honored with prestigious accolades such as a Sloan Research Fellowship in 2017, MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 designation, and the Robotics: Science and Systems Early Career Spotlight Award. She continues to champion the advancement of safe, reliable learning systems through her founding and previous leadership of the Dynamic Systems Lab at the University of Toronto, where she mentors the next generation of robotics researchers while maintaining her commitment to making significant technological breakthroughs accessible to broader society. Professor Schoellig's ongoing research focuses on establishing mathematical guarantees for learning-based control systems, positioning her at the forefront of efforts to deploy autonomous robots in safety-critical applications worldwide.
