Chen Tang

Hi! I’m an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA, where I am also part of the New Mobility program of UCLA ITS. Prior to this, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Science at UT Austin, advised by Prof. Peter Stone in the Learning Agents Research Group (LARG), and a Postdoctoral Scholar in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, advised by Prof. Masayoshi Tomizuka in the Mechanical Systems Control (MSC) Lab. I obtained my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley and my Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). I received the ASME DSCD Rising Star Awards in 2022 and was selected as an RSS Pioneer in 2023.

My research interest lies at the intersection of control, robotics, and learning. I aim to develop embodied AI agents operating in human-centered environments. To tackle this research challenge, I am dedicated to exploring principled approaches to integrate data-driven approaches (e.g., deep learning, generative models, reinforcement learning, and imitation learning) with control theory, explainable AI, and causality. My past and current research focused on applications in autonomous driving and robot navigation. My long-term research vision is to facilitate trustworthy and human-centered autonomy, aiming to expedite their integration into everyday life to yield substantial societal benefits.