Chris Kitts
BiographyDr. Christopher Kitts is an Associate Professor at Santa Clara University where he serves as the Director of the Robotic Systems Laboratory. He is also the Director of the Center for Robotic Exploration and Space Technologies, a multi-institution consortium or academic institutions focusing on aerospace research and education and which is located at the NASA Ames Research Park. In addition, he holds an Associate Researcher appointment at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, in conjunction with whom he and his students develop several advanced marine robotic systems. Dr. Kitts is also the Mission Operations Director for a series of NASA small spacecraft, which are controlled on-orbit by students in the Robotic Systems Laboratory. At Santa Clara, Prof. Kitts runs an aggressive field robotics program specializing in the design, control and teleoperation of highly capable robotic system for scientific discovery, technology validation, and engineering education. These systems include underwater vehicles, clusters of land rovers, autonomous aircraft, and microspacecraft. These systems provide unique experimental opportunities for demonstrating research innovations in multi-robot systems, model-based anomaly management, and other research topics within the Lab. Prof. Kitts’ professional experience includes work ranging from a research engineer to an operational satellite constellation mission controller, and he has held appointments as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Space Command, as a NASA contractor with Caelum Research Corporation, as a DoD Research Fellow at the U.S. Phillips Laboratory, as a founder and the Graduate Student Director of Stanford University’s Space Systems Development Laboratory, and as a technical consultant. He holds degrees from Princeton University, the University of Colorado, and Stanford University. Current Research InterestsModel-Based Anomaly Management: Using fundamental system descriptions in order to systematically compute conjectures regarding the detection of anomaly detection, the identification of possible anomaly diagnoses, and the generation of applicable anomaly resolutions. Experimental applications range from the health management of orbiting spacecraft to automobile diagnostics to the dynamic control of underwater propulsion systems. Sponsored projects relating to this work include the model-based operation of spacecraft for NASA and the Air Force. Cluster Space Control of Multiple Mobile Robots: Using the cluster space state representation to naturally specify and control the motion of multiple mobile robots in an autonomous or single-pilot system. Experimental applications include multi-rover testbeds for object manipulation/transport as well as for prototyping coordinated navigation of UAVs/ASVs for remote sensing and in situ monitoring applications. Sponsored projects relating to this work include a new NSF program in the development of a high performance, flexible multi-robot testbed. Dr. Kitts is currently serving as the Guest Editor for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine Special Issue on Multi-Robot Systems. Recent Book Chapters and Journal PublicationsProf. Kitts has (co)authored more than 100 publications relating to his research, education and programmatic activities. Recent peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters include: C. Kitts. “Robotics.” Accepted for The Handbook of Technology Management, Volume 3. H. Bidgoli, ed. New York: Wiley. C. Kitts and I. Mas. “Cluster Space Specification and Control of Mobile Multirobot Systems.” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, v 14, n 2, 2009, pp. 207-218. M. Chow, S. Chiaverini, and C. Kitts. “Mechatronics in Multi-Robot Systems: Guest Editorial.” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, v 14, n 2, 2009, pp. 133-140. P. Mahacek, I. Mas, O. Petrovic, J. Acain, and C. Kitts. "Cluster Space Control of Autonomous Surface Vessels." Marine Tech Soc Journal, v 43, n 1, pp. 13-20, 2009. E. Beck, W. Kirkwood, D. Caress, T. Berk, P. Mahacek, K. Brashem, J. Acain, V. Reddy, C. Kitts, J. Skutnik and G. Wheat. "SeaWASP: A Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Autonomous Platform for Shallow Water Mapping." Marine Tech Soc Journal, v 43, n 1, 2009, pp. 6-12. C. Kitts and M. Egerstedt. “Design, Control and Applications of Real-World Multirobot Systems.” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, v 15, n 1, March, 2008, p. 8. M. Swartwout, C. Kitts, R. Twiggs, T. Kenny, W. Smith, R. Lu, K. Stattenfield, F. Pranajaya. "Mission results for Sapphire, a student-built satellite.” Acta Astronautica, v 62, 2008, pp. 521-538. C. Kitts. “Managing space system anomalies using first principles reasoning.” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, Special Issue on Automation Science, v 13 no 4, December 2006, pp. 39-50. J.G. Moore, R.A. Schweickert, J.E. Robinson, M.M. Lahren, and C.A. Kitts. “Tsunami-generated boulder ridges in Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada.” Geology, v 34 no 11, November 2006, pp. 965-968. M. Swartwout, C. Kitts, and J. Cutler. “Sapphire: A Case Study in University-Class Satellites.” AIAA Journal on Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 43 no. 5, September-October 2006, pp. 1136-1139. C. Kitts and N. Quinn, "An Interdisciplinary Field Robotics Program for Undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering Education." ACM Journal on Educational Resources in Computing, v 4, n 2, June 2005, pp. 1-22. C. Kitts. "Surf, Turf, and Above the Earth: An Aggressive Robotics Development Program for Integrative Undergraduate Education." IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, vol 10, no. 3, 2003, pp. 30-36. C. Kitts and M. Swartwout. "Beacon Monitoring: Reducing the Cost of Nominal Spacecraft Operations." Journal of Reducing Space Mission Cost, vol 1, no. 4, 2002, pp. 305-338. AwardsSCU School of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award, 2008; SCU School of Engineering Researcher of the Year Award, 2007; NASA Team Achievement Award, 2004; Japan-U.S. Science Technology and Space Applications Program Outstanding Team Award, 2003; Santa Clara University Outstanding Service Award, 2000; Stanford University Lyon’s Service Award, 1999; AIAA National Award for Graduate Research in Intelligent Systems, 1998; Outstanding Teaching Award, Stanford University Dept. of Aeronautics & Astronautics, 1995; Dike Research Award, Princeton University Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Eng., 1986; Marshall Research Award, Princeton University Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Eng., 1986. Technical paper awards: AIAA Conf. on Small Satellites (1994, 1996, 1998) and ITC Telemetering Conf., 1995. SAE Doctoral Scholar, Dept. of Defense NDSEG Fellow, Stanford Future Professors Program Fellow. Courses TaughtUndergraduate
Graduate
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| |
