Professor James McLurkin
1972
Senior Hardware Engineer at Goggle
Created the “SwarmBots” robots
Recipient of the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize
McLurkin holds an S.B. in electrical engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering from MIT (1995), an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (1999), and an S.M. in computer science from MIT (2004). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). His first robot, Rover, was constructed in 1988, and was quickly followed by many other designs, including the Robotic Ants created at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab for his undergraduate thesis. One of the world’s most respected robot engineers with over 20 years of experience developing A.I.
McLurkin’s specialty of swarm technology aims to create an ecosystem of robots equipped to take on difficult and dangerous tasks such as search and rescue after an earthquake or during a fire. His work has been featured in Time and Black Enterprise magazines as well as on the PBS television series, Nova. Additionally, his expertise and counsel have been sought out by world-class companies such as Walt Disney Imagineering and Micro Display Corporation.
James McLurkin was born in 1972 in Baldwin, New York. His mother was a speech therapist on Long Island; and, his father, a business manager for AT&T. In 1988, McLurkin built his first robot, Rover, and quickly followed it with many other designs such as LEGO bricks. He also programed self-designed video games. Following graduation from Baldwin High School, McLurkin enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering in 1995. McLurkin continued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 1999 with his M.S. in electrical engineering. He returned to MIT and went on to receive his M.S. degree in computer science in 2003, and his Ph.D. in computer science in 2008.
Dr. McLurkin designed the “Robotic Ants” robots for his undergraduate thesis. He then began consulting in 1998 and worked on projects with Walt Disney Imagineering and iRobot Corporation. McLurkin created the “SwarmBots” robots during his five-year tenure as a lead research scientist at iRobo. In 2009, McLurkin was appointed assistant professor at Rice University. Using nature as a model, McLurkin’s core research has centered around developing distributed algorithms for multi-robot systems – the software for large swarms of autonomous robots. McLurkin’s research articles have been published in academic journals such as International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, International Symposium on Experimental Robotics, and IEEE Transactions on Education.
McLurkin completed his Ph.D. in computer science in May 2008 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Previously, he earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.S. from MIT.
As part of his doctoral research, McLurkin developed algorithms and techniques for programming “swarms” of autonomous robots to mimic the behavior of bees, including their abilities to cluster, disperse, follow, and orbit.
In 1995, McLurkin was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to speak about his life and career in a presentation for schoolchildren sponsored by the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
McLurkin worked as an intern at General Motors Advanced Technology Group in 1994 and remained there until he entered graduate school. From 1995 to 1997, he was assigned as a research assistant to Dr. Rodney Brooks at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. There, McLurkin designed the “Robotic Ants” robots for his undergraduate thesis. He then began consulting in 1998 and worked on projects with Walt Disney Imagineering and iRobot Corporation. McLurkin created the “SwarmBots” robots during his five-year tenure as lead research scientist at iRobo. In 2009, McLurkin was appointed assistant professor at Rice University. Using nature as a model, McLurkin’s core research has centered around developing distributed algorithms for multi-robot systems – the software for large swarms of autonomous robots. McLurkin’s research articles have been published in academic journals such as International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, International Symposium on Experimental Robotics, and IEEE Transactions on Education.
Since 1995, McLurkin has been asked to speak at Smithsonian Museum, Harvard University, Infosys, IBM, and Honda. In 2002, Mclurkin was featured in the Lemelson Center’s traveling exhibit, “Invention at Play”,” and was awarded the 2003 Lemelson MIT Student Prize. He was recognized by Time magazine as one of America’s top-five engineers in the “Rise of the Machines” feature and by Black Enterprise magazine as the Best and Brightest Under 40.”
Resources Library of Congress Archives HistoryMakers on February 3, 2013/ Global Perspectives,PBS.WSRE interview