- Graduate Field Affiliations
- Aerospace Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Biography
Jake Welde joined the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an Assistant Professor in 2025. Prior to that, he spent a decade at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and his Masters in Robotics, working in the GRASP Laboratory. In his research, Jake explores the role of differential geometry and dynamical systems theory in control synthesis and design for robotic systems, exploiting structural properties to explainably synthesize efficient controllers, accelerate learning algorithms, and develop more capable robot morphologies. In the classroom, he enjoys teaching abstract ways of thinking through hands-on experiences. Outside work, Jake loves spending time in Nature, cooking spicy food, and playing fetch with his dog Sprout.
Research Interests
Robotics, geometric control theory, dynamical systems, symmetry-informed methods, geometric mechanics, aerial vehicles, structured machine learning, underactuated systems, mechanical design, embedded systems
Service interests: K-12 STEM outreach, nurturing interdisciplinary research communities
Select Publications
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J. Welde, J. Paulos, and V. Kumar, “Dynamically Feasible Task Space Planning for Underactuated Aerial Manipulators,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2021.
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J. Welde and V. Kumar, “Almost Global Asymptotic Trajectory Tracking for Fully-Actuated Mechanical Systems on Homogeneous Riemannian Manifolds,” IEEE Control Systems Letters, 2024.
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P. Kunapuli, J. Welde, D. Jayaraman, and V. Kumar, “Leveling the Playing Field: Carefully Comparing Classical and Learned Controllers for Quadrotor Trajectory Tracking,” Robotics: Science and Systems, 2025.
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J. Welde*, N. Rao*, P. Kunapuli*, D. Jayaraman, and V. Kumar, “Leveraging Symmetry to Accelerate Learning of Trajectory Tracking Controllers for Free-Flying Robotic Systems,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2025, * equal contribution.
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J. Welde, M. D. Kvalheim, and V. Kumar, “A Compositional Approach to Certifying Almost Global Asymptotic Stability of Cascade Systems,” IEEE Control Systems Letters, 2023.
Select Awards and Honors
- RSS Pioneer, Robotics: Science and Systems 2024
- John A. Goff Prize, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania 2024
- Best Contribution (Neuroscience & Interpretability Track), NeurReps Workshop @ NeurIPS 2024
- Best Paper Finalist (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2021
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2019
Education
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania 2025
- M.S., Robotics, University of Pennsylvania 2020
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania 2019