Staff

Associate Director - Robert Blake Anderson joined the NRG in 2013, after a period of work in the commercial nuclear industry. His nuclear background is in the commercial grade dedication and environmental qualification of power station equipment. He obtained his masters degree in 2015 and his Ph.D in 2020, with a research focus on mobile autonomous inventory, inspection, and radiation surveying in nuclear facilities. Blake now works in the NRG as a post-doctoral fellow.

Associate Director - Corrie Van Sice conducts research in autonomous systems engineering, and has an interdisciplinary background in robotics, additive manufacturing, interactive technology and fine art/design. In her role as Associate Director, Corrie leads sponsored research efforts and seeks out new opportunities for the Nuclear and Applied Robotics group. She joined Texas Robotics in 2021 as a Research Scientist Associate, and became dedicated to the NRG lab in the fall 2023.

Corrie earned a Masters degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University in 2011. She's held appointments in academia and industry, including Managing Researcher of the Green 3D Printing lab with Dr. Jeremy Faludi, Dartmouth College Thayer School of Engineering, and Lead Materials Research Engineer at MakerBot Industries in Brooklyn, NY.

Robotics Research Engineer - Rohan Polavaram earned his B.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. In Summer 2024, Rohan joined the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG), where he is now a Robotics Research Engineer. His current projects span mixed-reality human–robot teaming, bird-call sound localization and identification, and modular robotics.

Robotics Research Engineer - Arjun Nair earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has one year of experience as a software developer intern at BizCloud Experts, where he also earned an AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate. In the summer of 2025, Arjun joined the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Group (NRG), where he now serves as a Staff Research Engineer. His current work focuses on advancing human–robot interaction through augmented reality by developing scalable, intuitive control systems for multi-agent robotic platforms and exploring how mixed reality can enhance collaborative autonomy in complex environments.

Marco Morales holds a Master’s degree in Robotics from Northwestern University. After spending two years at a robotics startup, he joined the NRG team, where he now focuses on simulation and robotic arm manipulation.

IT Manager - John Cassibry is the IT Manager for the Nuclear Robotics Group and the Nuclear Engineering Technology Lab at UT Austin. John has worked in IT at the university for over 20 years across several departments including Engineering, Biology, and Housing & Dining.

Senior Robotics Research Engineer - Fabian Parra graduated with a B.Sc in Mechatronic Engineering from the Nueva Granada Military University in Bogota. After working in automation for 5 years, he moved to Estonia where he received his M.Sc Cum Laude in Robotics and Computer Engineering from the University of Tartu in 2020. Fabian joined the NRG in fall 2021. His current research focuses on supervised autonomy and human-machine interfaces.

Robotics Research Associate  - Dr. Andrew Sharp completed his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the spring of 2013 and became part of the the NRG team in the fall of 2013. He started his time at the NRG working on the integration of the newly acquired VaultBot platform. His PhD research focused on levels of autonomy and the use of virtual fixtures for augmented teleoperation of industrial systems. Virtual fixturing can be used to impose software limits on the robot workspace in a similar manner to a hardware jig. Andrew graduated with his PhD in May of 2019 and worked at NASA JSC in Houston, Texas before returning to the NRG in 2024.

Project Manager - Andy Bolanos. After a decade of operational service in the U.S. Army, they transitioned into the field of autonomous systems and academia, leveraging his expertise to manage projects across all disciplines. Andy brings extensive experience in military operations and project management.

Andy earned his Master's degree and PMP certification in 2023. When he isn’t at work or with family, he enjoys all outdoor activities and adventures.

Robotics Research Engineer - Ryan Lee graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Business Analytics from the University of Texas at Austin in Spring 2022 and Spring 2023 respectively. Ryan joined the NRG in Winter 2024 to work full-time.