Jing Xiao, professor of computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, has been named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow effective Jan. 1.
She is being recognized for contributions to robot compliant motion and haptic interaction. Xiao’s core work addresses the physical interaction between a machine and objects it manipulates, which impacts the application of robotics and haptics in autonomous assembly operations, tele-operations, virtual prototyping and virtual training of surgical operations.
“It’s a great sense of achievement knowing your years of work have been recognized by such a prestigious organization,” said Xiao. “I'm also grateful for the support I have received over the years from the college and the University. This truly is an honor for them as well.”
The IEEE Board of Directors designates an individual a Fellow who achieves an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one-percent of the total voting membership. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.
Xiao has made significant contributions to robot compliant motion planning involving complex contact scenarios. Her work has enabled automatic robot motion through a sequence of constraining contacts to accomplish an assembly task of tight tolerance. She also has made novel contributions in simulating haptic (nonverbal communication) interaction involving multiple contact regions between a rigid, articulate object, such as a tool, and a deformable object. Xiao also made unique contributions in real-time adaptive motion planning of high-degree of freedom robots in uncertain dynamic environments.
A graduate of China’s Beijing Normal University, Xiao received her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in computer, information and control engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
She served as the program director of the Robotics and Human Augmentation Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation from 1998 to 2000, and she was elected for two three-year terms (1999-2001, 2010-2012) as a member of the Administrative Committee of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. She also has served on editorial boards and conference organizing committees of major international journals and conferences in the field of robotics.
Since 2008, Xiao has been the associate dean for research and graduate programs at the College of Computing and Informatics. She will become only the third IEEE Fellow at UNC Charlotte and the first to have spent her entire career here.