Industry Panel Speakers
Brendan Schulman
Boston Dynamics
Brendan Schulman is the Vice President of Policy & Government Relations for Boston Dynamics, the global leader in developing and deploying robots equipped with advanced mobility, dexterity, and intelligence. In this role, he collaborates with policymakers and stakeholders on a wide range of policy and ethics issues relating to the integration of beneficial robots into society. Previously, Brendan was a prominent leader on the development of legislation, regulations, and safety technologies concerning uncrewed aircraft systems (commercial drones), playing a key role in solutions at the federal, state and local levels, as well as internationally. A technology advocate, thought-leader, and champion of pragmatic solutions to the concerns that are raised by emerging technologies, Brendan has served on federal and state policy advisory committees, testified in the U.S. Congress and the U.K. House of Commons, lectures frequently, and is often quoted in the media on technology law and policy.
Mitchell Black
MIT Lincoln Lab
Mitchell Black is a Technical Staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he conducts research on problems related to safe autonomy. Prior to joining MITLL, he received his B.S. from Tufts University in Mechanical Engineering and Astrophysics in 2016, his M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2017 and 2023 respectively, and was most recently a Research Scientist with the Cyber-Physical Systems group at Toyota Research Institute of North America (2022-2024). Mitchell was the 2016 recipient of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship for combined achievement in the classroom and as a member of the Tufts University Track & Field team. In 2021, he competed at the US Track & Field Olympic Trials in the 800m, where he finished 23rd.
Ulrich Viereck
Symbotic
Ulrich Viereck’s main areas of research are artificial intelligence and robotics. He is interested in designing robots that assist humans in their daily lives. His objective is to develop algorithms that allow robots to interact in uncertain and unpredictable environments. He is particularly interested in improving the manipulation, perception, planning, and control of robots. He has a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and information technology from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His publications appeared in 1st Annual Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL), Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC) 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE, and IEEE Computer Society Annual Symposium on VLSI.