Interested in joining the CHARM Lab? Please see this page.

Spring 2026 CHARM Lab

Principal Investigator

Allison Okamura

Title: Richard W. Weiland Professor in the School of Engineering Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and, by courtesy, Computer Science Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education Email: aokamura [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:aokamura [snail] stanford [period] edu Phone: 650-721-1700 Address Building 550, Room 107, 416 Escondido Mall Stanford, CA 94305-2203 Webpage: School of Engineering profile Personal webpage

Administrative Staff

Gosia Wojciechowska
	Title: Administrator Email: gosiaw [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:gosiaw [snail] stanford [period] edu Phone: (650) 723-9233 Address Building 560, Room 217, 424 Panama Mall Stanford, CA 94305-2232

Postdocs and Research Scientists

Ava Chen
	Project: Haptic Garments Education: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Email: avachen [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:avachen [snail] stanford [period] edu Webpage: Ava's Webpage

PhD Students

Elizabeth Childs
	Project: AR and Haptics for Education and Training Co-advisor: James Landay (Stanford) Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland College Park Email: elchilds [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:elchilds [snail] stanford [period] edu\\xf Webpage: Elizabeth's Webpage
Brian Vuong
	Project: Surgical Robotic Teleoperation and Haptic Devices Education: MS in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University BS in Biomedical Engineering, Brown University Email: bbvuong [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:bbvuong [snail] stanford [period] edu
Sehui Jeong
	Project: Modeling in Soft Robotics Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University Email: sehui [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:sehui [snail] stanford [period] edu
Mary Kate Gale
	Project: Human Motor Learning for Teleoperation Education: BS in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech Email: mgale7 [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:mgale7 [snail] stanford [period] edu
William Heap
	Project: Mechanical design for vine robots Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara Email: wheap [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:wheap [snail] stanford [period] edu
Megan Coram
	Project: Design and Fabrication of Wearable Devices Education: BA in Mechanical Engineering, Harvard University Email: mccoram [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:mccoram [snail] stanford [period] edu
Ariane Richard
	Project: Generative Design of Continuum Robots Education: BS in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech Email: ariane7 [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:ariane7 [snail] stanford [period] edu
Alex Mallery
	Project: Small Ocean Sensing Robots Education: M.S. in Computer Science, Stanford University B.S. Honors in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University Email: amallery [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:amallery [snail] stanford [period] edu
Sarah Glomski
	Project: Haptic Teleoperation Education: MEng in Mechanical Engineering, Duke University BSE in Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Email: glomski [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:glomski [snail] stanford [period] edu
Ana Paola Aranzola
	Project: Haptic Augmented Reality using Smart Materials Co-advisor: Dr. Vivian Feig (Stanford) Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at El Paso Email: aranzola [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:aranzola [snail] stanford [period] edu
Sunny Li
	Project: Haptic Devices Education: BS in Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego Email: sunnystl [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:sunnystl [snail] stanford [period] edu
Yuxuan Wu
	Project: AR and Haptics for Healthcare Co-advisor Bruce Daniel and Brian Hargreaves (Stanford) Education: BS in Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University MS in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University Email: YxWU25 [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:YxWU25 [snail] stanford [period] edu

Visiting Students and Scholars

Shujiro Shobayashi
	Project: Surgical Robotic & Soft Robotic Education: M.S. in Medical Robotic, EPFL, Switzerland B.S. in Life Science Engineering, EPFL, Switzerland Email: shujiros [snail] stanford [period] edu -> mailto:shujiros [snail] stanford [period] edu

Rotators, MS and Undergraduate Researchers, High School Interns, Etc.

Autumn 2026:
Ereni Delis <edelis@stanford.edu> - MSME student working with Sunny Li and Ava Chen on haptic devices for automated neurological assessment
Nubia Correa <necorrea@stanford.edu> - BSEE student in the EcoRamp program working with William Heap on vine robot system electronics
Adarsh Ambati <adarsh1@stanford.edu> - CS coterm student working with Sarah Glomski and Ava Chen on haptic autonomy
Carter Hughes <hughesc@stanford.edu> - MSME student working with William Heap on the hydraulic vine and vine actuation
Edric Khai Jieh Ong <edricong@stanford.edu> - MSEE student working with William Heap on vine robot system electronics
Anjali Vu <anjalivu@stanford.edu> - MSAA student working with William Heap on vine robot mechanical system
Timber Carey <timberc@stanford.edu> - MSME student working with William Heap on vine robot steering mechanisms
Matilda Drewett <mdrewett@stanford.edu> - BSME student working with William Heap on vine robot tip mounts

Current and Recent Collaborators

Harry Asada, Ph.D. (Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
Jeannette Bohg, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University)
Steve Collins, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University)
Heather Culbertson, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Southern California)
Mark Cutkosky, Ph.D. (Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University)
Sean Follmer, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University)
Elliot Hawkes, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California San Diego)
Maarten Lansberg, M.D., Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center)
Monroe Kennedy, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University)
Zac Manchester, Ph.D. (Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University)
Jee-Hwan Ryu, Ph.D. (Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST)
Dorsa Sadigh, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University)
Mac Schwager, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University)
Mark Skylar-Scott, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Bioengineering, Stanford University)
Katsu Yamane, Ph.D. (previously at Honda Research Institute)

Lab Alumni

Click here for past lab members.

Past Lab Photos

Click here for past lab photos.

Lab Jobs

• Lab data storage & backup (Google Drive) - Mary Kate
• Webmaster - Katelyn
• Shared lab materials and purchases - Sehui and Sunny
• Mini shop coordinator (tools, Makerbots, UV laser cutter, Formlabs, Objet 3D printer, Ultrasonic welder management) - William and Megan
• Laser cutter in Shape Lab - Sehui
• Lab safety coordinator, Building Evacuation Response Team (BERT) member - Brian V.
• Meeting/events and lab clean up coordinator - Ariane
• Outreach and social media coordinators - Elizabeth C., Sarah, and Ana
• Lab tour/demo coordinator - Ava
• da Vinci maintenance - Brian
• Human subjects - Allison