KATHRYN LAMPO (she/her) katelampo@robots.ox.ac.uk
I’m a 2025 Marshall Scholar and MSc by Research student in the GOALS Lab at the University of Oxford, where I’m advised by Nick Hawes. My current work focuses on robotic planning for multi-agent coordination in uncertain environments, and I’m particularly interested in developing autonomous systems for space exploration.

Before Oxford, I graduated from Columbia University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. While there, I led the Columbia Space Initiative, where I worked on projects including cube satellite development, astronaut tool design, and aerospace-focused educational outreach. I also conducted research in the Robotic Manipulation and Mobility Lab and co-founded Columbia’s program in Aerospace Engineering. Previously, I’ve interned at NASA Ames Research Center and the Robotic Exploration Lab at Carnegie Mellon.

Outside of my work, I am passionate about teaching and educational equity, and I dedicate much of my free time to tutoring, running, rowing, and enjoying good cups of coffee.

LinkedIn Google Scholar CV

RECENT WORK

Planning for Marsupial Robotic Exploration
GOALS Lab, University of Oxford
Advisors: Nick Hawes, Jana Tumova

Ongoing work on developing effective models to plan marsupial exploration of partially-known and potentially hazardous environments.

Planning for Marsupial Exploration in Partially-Known Environments [UK PlanSig Workshop]

Kathryn Lampo, Jana Tumova, Nick Hawes

Underactuated Astrobee Hand
ROAM Lab, Columbia University
Advisors: Eric Chang, Matei Ciocarlie
project page

Made design and control updates to an underactuated tendon-driven hand built for Astrobee, the free-flying robot on the ISS. Introduced basic tactile sensing capabilities for object slip detection.

Cube Satellites: LIONESS & Lion Cub
Columbia Space Initiative, Columbia University
Advisor: David Schiminovich

Worked for multiple years on two different cube satellites as a part of a student-led team . Focused primarily on structural design and thermal analysis; contributed to multiple successful grant proposals for launch and hardware funding.

The Line Imaging Orbiter for Nanosatellite-Enabled Spectrographic Surveys (LIONESS) [SPIE]

Matthew Werneken, David Schiminovich, Ines Khouider, David McIntosh, Bruno Rergis, Nicholas de la Cruz, Michael Kolber, Manuella Kwawu, Kathryn Lampo, Wesley Maa, Naya Nwokorie, Robert Pendergrast, Yiyang Peng, Aaroosh Ramadorai, Atri Ray, Nidhi Shah, Ruimian Zheng, Meghna Sitaram, Nicole Melso, Ioannis Kymissis, Michael Massimino
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

Avalanche Airbag
MECE E3420 & MECE E3430: Senior Design, Columbia University
Instructor: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy / Collaborators: Adriana Delagarza, Kade Jimenez, Kalen Richardson
technical report / product poster

Year-long project to improve avalanche safety by making avalanche airbags more accessible, faster to inflate, and more protective. Completed an entire design cycle, including ideation, design, manufacturing, and robust high-pressure and tensile testing. Mechanical engineering senior capstone.

Teleoperated Robotic Gripper & Controller
ROAM Lab, Columbia University
Advisors: Joaquin Palacios, Matei Ciocarlie / Collaborator: Philippe Wu
project page

Designed & built a teleoperated robotic gripper as a testing platform for the lab.

VibeCheck: Using Active Acoustic Tactile Sensing for Contact-Rich Manipulation [arXiv]

Kaidi Zhang*, Do-Gon Kim*, Eric T. Chang*, Hua-Hsuan Liang, Zhanpeng He, Kathryn Lampo, Philippe Wu, Ioannis Kymissis, Matei Ciocarlie

IROS 2025
Train Robots in a JIF: Joint Inverse and Forward Dynamics with Human and Robot Demonstrations [arXiv]

Gagan Khandate*, Boxuan Wang*, Sarah Park*, Weizhe Ni, Joaquin Palacios, Kathryn Lampo, Philippe Wu, Rosh Ho, Eric Chang, Matei Ciocarlie

Solar Sail Stress Analysis
Cool Worlds Lab, Columbia University
Advisor: David Kipping

video

Conducted stress analysis for a novel spinning solar sail design. Aided with material selection and speed determination.

Torqued Accelerator using Radiation from the Sun (TARS) for Interstellar Payloads [arXiv]
David Kipping, Kathryn Lampo
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (accepted)

Bipedal Robot
MECE 4611: Robotics Studio, Columbia University
Instructor: Hod Lipson
project page

Independently designed and built a bipedal robot with the goal of maximizing walking speed.

Button-Pushing Linkage
MECE E3409: Machine Design, Columbia University
Instructor: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy / Collaborators: Adriana Delagarza, Kade Jimenez, Kalen Richardson
final performance video

Designed and optimized a four-bar linkage to efficiently press buttons in a random sequence. Developed motor transmission, machined custom components, and designed a capable control system.

Rotor Blade CFD Simulations for NASA’s Dragonfly
NASA Ames Research Center
Advisor: Patricia Ventura Díaz

Performed rotor blade analysis for the quadcopter Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan. Used NASA's OVERFLOW CFD code to complete meshing and simulation, then compiled, visualized, and analyzed performance results from >10 different flight cases.

Radio Frequency Cube Satellite Wildlife Tracking
REx Lab, Carnegie Mellon University
Advisor: Zac Manchester

working paper / poster

Developed a MATLAB algorithm to process radio frequency data and track a moving tag simulating a bird. Prototyped a lightweight, long-lasting radio payload to attach to a drone for experimentation.

An Architecture Study for Low-Power Satellite-Based Wildlife Tracking [IEEE]
Fausto Vega, James Phillips, Kathryn Lampo, Robert MacCurdy, Zachary Manchester
2024 IEEE Aerospace Conference

Astronaut Rescue Boat
Columbia Space Initiative, Columbia University
Advisor: Mike Massimino
technical report / video pitch

Led a team of 20 undergraduate students to design and prototype an autonomous rescue boat for use by astronauts in emergency water landings.

Lunar Gripping and Anchoring Device
Columbia Space Initiative, Columbia University
Advisor: Mike Massimino

Worked in a small team to design and fabricate a fully mechanical lunar gripping and anchoring device. Selected for testing in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory as part of the NASA Micro-g NExT Challenge.