About

I have PhDs in Robotics (University of Michigan) and Cell & Molecular Biology (University of Chicago), and a BA in Mathematics from Wayne State University. During my PhDs, I conceived and led multiple research projects spanning provably-safe motion planning, reachability analysis, and perception for robot manipulators, and investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular force generation and RNA structural dynamics. I'm currently interested in building AI-driven autonomous systems that accelerate scientific discovery, advance manufacturing, and improve how we build and maintain the physical world. You can reach me by email: jmichaux15 at gmail dot com.
Jonathan Michaux

Research

Let's Make a Splan: Risk-Aware Trajectory Optimization in a Normalized Gaussian Splat
Let's Make a Splan: Risk-Aware Trajectory Optimization in a Normalized Gaussian Splat
Jonathan Michaux*, Seth Isaacson*, Challen Enninful Adu, Adam Li, Rahul Kashyap Swayampakula, Parker Ewen, Sean Rice, Katherine A. Skinner, Ram Vasudevan
IEEE T-RO, 2025 (accepted)
pdf project
Can't Touch This: Real-Time, Safe Motion Planning and Control for Manipulators Under Uncertainty
Can't Touch This: Real-Time, Safe Motion Planning and Control for Manipulators Under Uncertainty
Jonathan Michaux, Patrick Holmes, Bohao Zhang, Che Chen, Baiyue Wang, Shrey Sahgal, Tiancheng Zhang, Sidhartha Dey, Shreyas Kousik, Ram Vasudevan
IEEE T-RO, 2025 (accepted)
pdf project
Conformalized Reachable Sets for Obstacle Avoidance With Spheres
Conformalized Reachable Sets for Obstacle Avoidance With Spheres
Yongseok Kwon, Jonathan Michaux, Ram Vasudevan
ICRA, 2025 (accepted)
pdf project
Reachability-based Trajectory Design via Exact Formulation of Implicit Neural Signed Distance Functions
Reachability-based Trajectory Design via Exact Formulation of Implicit Neural Signed Distance Functions
Jonathan Michaux*, Qingyi Chen*, Challen Enninful Adu, Jinsun Liu, Ram Vasudevan
pdf project
Safe Planning for Articulated Robots Using Reachability-based Obstacle Avoidance With Spheres
Safe Planning for Articulated Robots Using Reachability-based Obstacle Avoidance With Spheres
Jonathan Michaux, Adam Li, Qingyi Chen, Che Chen, Bohao Zhang, Ram Vasudevan
Robotics: Science and Systems, 2024
pdf project
Serving Time: Real-Time, Safe Motion Planning and Control for Manipulation of Unsecured Objects
Serving Time: Real-Time, Safe Motion Planning and Control for Manipulation of Unsecured Objects
Zachary Brei, Jonathan Michaux, Bohao Zhang, Patrick Holmes, Ram Vasudevan
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), 2024
pdf project
Reachability-based Trajectory Design with Neural Implicit Safety Constraints
Reachability-based Trajectory Design with Neural Implicit Safety Constraints
Jonathan Michaux, Qingyi Chen, Yong Seok Kown, Ram Vasudevan
Robotics: Science and Systems, 2023
pdf project
Modulating RhoA effectors induces transitions to oscillatory and more wavelike RhoA dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans zygotes
Modulating RhoA effectors induces transitions to oscillatory and more wavelike RhoA dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans zygotes
Baixue Yao, Seth Donoughe, Jonathan Michaux, Edwin Munro
Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC), 2022
pdf project
Excitable RhoA dynamics drive pulsed contractions in the early C. elegans embryo
Excitable RhoA dynamics drive pulsed contractions in the early C. elegans embryo
Jonathan B. Michaux, François B. Robin, William M. McFadden, Edwin M. Munro
Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), 2018
pdf project