Alumni

See the alumni list here.

Faculty

Herschel C. Pangborn, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Herschel C. Pangborn is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, and the Principal Investigator of the Pangborn Advanced Controls Lab. His research focuses on model predictive control, optimization, and set-based verification of dynamic systems, including electro-thermal systems in vehicles, buildings, and power grids.

More info...

Ph.D. Students

The PAC Lab is often seeking graduate students to join our team. Successful candidates should be self-motivated, curious, hard-working, and have a record of academic achievement. Please see the "join" page for more information about how to apply.

Seho Park
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Power and Thermal Management of Electrified Vehicles
 sehopark (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Andrew Thompson
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Energy-aware Autonomy
aft5212 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Jonah Glunt
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Reachability Analysis Using Hybrid Zonotopes
 jjg57 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Joshua Robbins
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Path Planning, Control, and Estimation for Autonomous Vehicles
 jrobbins (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Joe Pisani
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Path Planning, Control, and Estimation for Autonomous Vehicles
 jmp8430 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Casey Hess
Degree in Progress: 
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 
Research Topic: 
Set-based Optimization, Model Predictive Control, and Robot Path Planning
 czh5808 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...

M.S. Students

The PAC Lab is often seeking graduate students to join our team. Successful candidates should be self-motivated, curious, hard-working, and have a record of academic achievement. Please see the "join" page for more information about how to apply.

Sarah Chekan
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Modeling and System-level Control of Renewable-integrated Microgrids.
 sac6274 (at) psu (dot) edu
  LinkedIn
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Ben Hudson
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (co-advised with Julia Cole)
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Modeling and Optimization of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
 bjh6298 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Alex Haefner
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (co-advised with Julia Cole)
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Design Modeling and Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
 ach5681 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Stephen McGlynn
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (co-advised with David Hall)
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Design Optimization and Control of Electrified Aircraft
 sam7300 (at) psu (dot) edu
More info...
Kaelea Hayes
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2027
Research Topic: 
Autonomous Vehicle Control and Path Planning
Josh May
Degree in Progress: 
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Modeling and Control of Microreactors

Undergraduate Students

The PAC Lab is often seeking undergraduate students to join our team, including but not limited to Schreyer Honors Scholars interested in completing their honors thesis on a topic relevant to our research areas. Please see the "join" page for more information about how to apply.

Liam McIntyre
Degree in Progress: 
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Autonomous Vehicle Control and Path Planning
  LinkedIn
Rejat Krishnan
Degree in Progress: 
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2028
Research Topic: 
Autonomous Vehicle Control and Path Planning
  LinkedIn
Jason Lee
Degree in Progress: 
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2027
Research Topic: 
Thermal Management Testbed Development
  LinkedIn
Daniel Pienknagura
Degree in Progress: 
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering 
Expected Graduation Date: 
May 2026
Research Topic: 
Autonomous Vehicle Control and Path Planning
  LinkedIn

Post-dogs

Henry Pangborn
Research Topic: 
Trajectory Optimization for Pursuit-Evasion Games Involving High-elasticity Spheres
(i.e., fetch with tennis balls)

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