Welcome!

My name is Di (pronounced “Dee”).

My research focuses on developing small-scale robotic collectives that are scalable, robust, and adaptive, enabling new modes of robotic operation in dynamic, unstructured environments. I study how these systems can be designed to perceive, decide, and act collectively, expanding how we observe and interact with complex surroundings. My work targets field deployment, including autonomous inspection, minimally invasive monitoring, and parallelized sensing and detection.

I currently work in the awesome SSR lab with Prof. Radhika Nagpal. My research focuses on understanding the hydrodynamics and swarm formation within fish schools using a bioinspired robotic platform called BlueSwarm. Before Princeton, I completed my Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, advised by Prof. Amit Lal. My doctoral research focused on developing novel actuators and power supplies for the insect-sized robotic platform.