Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, 2009

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, 2008
Computer Science Minor

B.S. Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Oregon State University, 2005
Control Systems Elective

Research Experience

Post Doctoral Researcher	2009 - Present
Dr. Kagan Tumer	Oregon State University - Mechanical Engineering
Research focus on the coordination of large networks of "smart" sensors for application to advanced power plants. Includes objective design, state/action space selections, inter-agent communication, and simulation technology. Project is funded by the Department of Energy through the NETL.

Research Assistant	2006 - Present
Dr. Kagan Tumer	Oregon State University - Mechanical Engineering
Research focus on coordination of limited resource mobile robots in partially observable, dynamic environments. This includes but is not limited to physical robot implementations, online adaptive navigation algorithms, multi-agent objective structures, promoting emergent partnerships among individuals, and passive communication techniques.

Systems Architect	2004 - 2006
Dr. Belinda Batten	Oregon State University - Mechanical Engineering
Investigation of low-cost, low-power control solutions for application to autonomous ground vehicle, specific to the DARPA Grand Challenge competition. This includes but is not limited to Fuzzy Logic multi-layer control, operating system design, sensor interfacing and processing, hardware implementation, and extensive diagnostics and autonomous system behavior evaluation.

Teaching Experience

Instructor, System Dynamics and Control (Upper Division), Oregon State University, Winter 2010

Instructor, Mechatronics (Upper Division), Oregon State University, Spring 2007 and Spring 2008

Teaching Assistant, System Dynamics and Control (Upper Division), Oregon State University, Fall/Winter 2005-2008

Publications

Knudson, M. "Navigation and Coordination of Autonomous Mobile Robots with Limited Resources"
Ph.D. Dissertation, Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, 2009 (submitted for publication)

Knudson, M. and Tumer, K. "Robot Coordination with Ad-hoc Team Formation"
Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2010 (submitted for publication)

Knudson, M. and Tumer, K. "Policy Search and Policy Gradient Methods for Autonomous Navigation"
Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2010 (submitted for publication)

Knudson, M. and Tumer, K. "Coordinating Autonomous Robots for Exploration in Dynamic Environments"
Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering, 2008 - Session Presentation

Knudson, M. and Tumer, K. "Neuro-Evolutionary Navigation for Resource-Limited Mobile Robots"
Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering, 2008 (3rd Place - Best Application Paper) - Session Presentation

Knudson, M. "Applying Hierarchical and Adaptive Control to Coordinating Autonomous Robots"
Master of Science Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, 2008

Knudson, M. and Schmitt, J. "Mentor Graphics SystemVision Software Curriculum Integration"
American Society for Engineering Education, 2007

Knudson, M. and Tumer, K. "Effective Policies for Resource Limited Agents"
Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 2007

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Junell, J., Knudson, M., and Tumer, K. "Optimzing Sensor / Neuro-Controller Pairings for Effective Navigation"
Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering, 2008 - Session Presentation

Donnelly, M. and Knudson, M. "Mini-Baja Traction Control System - Mechatronics Modeling"
Society of Automotive Engineers International, 2006 (2006-01-0293)

Honors and Awards

Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, College of Engineering, Oregon State University, September 2007

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, May 2007

Outstanding Service to the Department, Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, May 2007

Service

Chair, Tenure Student Evaluation Committee, Dr. Irem Tumer, 2009

Da Vinci Days Kinetic Sculpture engineering judge, Summer 2008

Mentor for cross-discipline senior design team in miniBAJA and Formula SAE, 2005 - 2009

Mentor for ECE senior design team in autonomous ground vehicle research, 2006

Mechanical Engineering graduate student recruitment / orientation, 2005 - 2009

Employment

Xerox, Inc.	Wilsonville, OR
Test Engineer	06/2006 - 09/2006
Designed, implemented, and maintained life-cycle tests for the motion and control department within the solid ink division.

Mentor Graphics, Inc.	Wilsonville, OR
Engineering Intern	06/2006 - 09/2005
Designed and merged FPGA software, hardware, and control algorithms as well as create sensor integration software for use with a new product.

Children's Farm Home	Corvallis, OR
IT Assistant Manager	2002 - 2005
Managed information technology services for the Corvallis campus of Trillium Family Services.

Epoch Networks, Inc. (now MegaPath)	Irvine, CA
Datacenter Engineer	1998 - 2001
Assisted in the design and maintained large-scale internet service datacenters. Designed software for automated client statistics tracking, compilation, and monitoring. Designed software for live network equipment connectivity monitoring including automated diagnostic and repair functionality.