Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Robotics, Michigan Engineering
Dr. Grizzle has set an unparalleled example for expanding access to engineering curriculum with his work on Robotics (ROB) 101: Introduction to Linear Algebra. Working with professor colleagues at U-M and Morehouse College, Jessy created a course from the ground up to make it inclusive, and add new avenues for the materials to be disseminated. This allows the course to be taught at other HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions, as well as the School at Marygrove, a Detroit high school. Jessy’s lab regularly conducts enthusiastic outreach for youth groups from under-served and under-represented communities.His research aims to enable better mobility for assistive walking robots. And, this is only a fragment of Jessy’s commitment to social justice, access, and other forms of D-E-I. Earning our donors’ trust and respect, Jessy was instrumental in the College of Engineering’s relationship with Ronald and Regina McNeil, who endowed the Robotics chair — the first of its kind funded by African American donors.
