Global robot scientist Dennis Hong has joined LG Electronics to help advance the group-wide future growth drive in the high-tech industry, according to the firm, Monday.
The electronics affiliate of LG Group said Hong will play an integral part in the firm's long-term plan to develop integrated robot logistics solutions encompassing storage and home delivery for retail consumers.
"The addition of the world-renowned robot scientist to our group of robot experts will propel the corporate presence on the global stage," the firm said.
LG Electronics opened LG Boston Robotics Lab in the U.S. in 2020, and has since developed next-generation robot technologies in collaboration with a global robot scientist, Kim Sang-bae, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Hong is currently a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He doubles as the founding director of the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).
He made the 2009 "Brilliant 10" list, compiled by an American digital magazine, Popular Science, to honor top scientists younger than 40 from across the U.S. every year.
Hong worked as an affiliate professor of engineering at Virginia Tech and in the Jet Propulsion Research Institute of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
His research focuses on robot locomotion, autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots. He received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
He was honored as one of Purdue University's "Top 40 under 40" alums. Other awards include the National Science Foundation's CAREER award, the GM Young Investigator Award.
He led student teams for a variety of international robotics and design competitions and won numerous top prizes including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge.
