Welcome to the MRL! Our lab is committed to cultivating a diverse, inclusive, innovative, and collaborative robotics community—one that encourages creativity, supports personal and professional growth, promotes socially responsible research, and makes the journey both meaningful and enjoyable.
Principal Investigator
Wei Wang
Position title: Assistant Professor
Pronouns: he/him/his
Wei Wang is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he directs the Marine Robotics Lab. Prior to joining UW–Madison, he was a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL). He received his Ph.D. from Peking University in 2016 and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC).
PhD. Students
Arturo Gamboa-Gonzalez
Pronouns: he/him/his
Arturo Gamboa-Gonzalez is a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at UW-Madison. He received his bachelor’s degrees in Robotics and Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Cruz in 2022. Arturo’s interests include robot locomotion and dynamics & control.
Jiayi Jin
Pronouns: he/him/his
Jiayi Jin is a third-year Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at UW-Madison. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2024. Jiayi’s interests include soft robotics, robot design, simulation, and control. Besides, Jiayi is also a lover of photographing and hiking.
Shuoqi Wang
Pronouns: he/him/his
Shuoqi Wang is a fifth-year Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at the UW-Madison. He earned his bachelor’s degree in ME from the UI in 2020, and his master’s degree in Robotics from the UM in 2022. His reaserach interests include soft robots, proprioception and control.
Jack Stonecipher
Pronouns: he/him/his
Jack Stonecipher is a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student at UW Madison. He received a BA in Physics with a minor in Computer Science from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2023. He is primarily interested in bioinspired robotic design. Outside of the lab, Jack is an avid reader and plays cello in a local symphony orchestra.
Kevin Macauley
Pronouns: he/him/his
Kevin Macauley is a second-year Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023.
Theodore LengKong
Theodore LengKong is a first-year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering at UW–Madison, co-advised by Professors Wei Wang and Yunus Alapan. He received his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2026. His research interests include bio-inspired robotics, swarm and collective robotics, and machine learning. Outside of the lab, he enjoys biking around Madison.
Master Students
Jiayi Zhang
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Jiayi Zhang is a second-year Mechanical Engineering Master student at the UW-Madison. She earned her bachelor’s degree in ME and French from the Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2025. Her reasearch interests include soft robots and control.
Yuyan Tang
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Yuyan Tang is a first-year Mechanical Engineering Master student at the UW-Madison. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Automation from the Zhejiang University in 2026. Her research interests include motion control and robotics.
Undergraduate Students
Yanwen Gu
Yanwen Gu is a senior undergraduate at UW-Madison major in Electrical Engineering and Physics. His work focuses on electrode-based long-range underwater communication system.
Yao Buchl
Yao Buchl is a second-year mechanical engineering undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is focusing on bio-inspired robotics, and outside of the lab, she enjoys running and cross-country skiing.
Zhengyang (Adam) Yu
Zhengyang (Adam) Yu is a senior undergraduate student double majoring in Computer Sciences and Data Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include underwater 3D tracking, computer vision, and robotic perception. Outside the lab, Adam enjoys spending time with his cat.
Aradhya Verma
Aradhya Verma is an undergraduate senior studying Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at UW–Madison. In the Marine Robotics Lab, she works on building, integrating, and testing robotic platforms. Driven by a passion for hands-on engineering, her interests center on robotics and direct hardware development.
Melody Li
Melody Li is a senior undergraduate studying Mechanical Engineering at UW Madison. Her research interests include soft robotics and bioinspired design. Outside the lab, Melody enjoys hiking and traveling.
Haochen Gao
Haochen Gao is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering with an interest in robotics and control systems. Outside the lab, he enjoys drawing and is a fan of space.
Group Photo Galleries
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Lab Alumni
Master’s Students:
- 2026 — Sicheng Fu, Ph.D. student at UW-Madison (Fall 2026)
- 2026 — Zhiheng Chen, Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan (Fall 2026)
Undergraduate Students:
- 2026 — Michael Zhao, Ph.D. student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Fall 2026)
- 2026 — Yanwen Gu, Master’s student at Carnegie Mellon University (Fall 2026)
- 2026 — Zachary Rusch, Design Engineer at Milwaukee Tool (Summer 2026)
- 2025 — Chunlin Li, Ph.D. student at the University of Hong Kong (Fall 2025)
- 2024 — Zhiheng Chen, Master’s student at Cornell University (Fall 2024)
- 2024 — Fuqi Zhang, Master’s student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (Fall 2024)