Biography:
Dr. Baumgartner is the Dean of the T. J. Smull College of Engineering and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio Northern University. Prior to joining ONU, Dr. Baumgartner spent 10 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where he held a number of technical and management positions including a leadership role on the Mars Exploration Rover project that successfully launched, landed and operated the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on the Martian surface. Dr. Baumgartner was honored with the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2004 for his efforts on the Mars rover project and, in May 2008, Dr. Baumgartner, along with two of his colleagues at JPL, was presented with the 2008 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award.
Professional Experience:
- Dean, T. J. Smull College of Engineering, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, July 2006 – present.
- Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, July 2006 – present.
- Senior Member of Engineering Staff, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, July 1996 – June 2006.
- Supervisor, Mechanical and Robotic Technologies Group, Mobility and Robotic Systems Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, April 2002 – August 2005.
- Visiting Lecturer, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, Spring Quarter, 1997 – 2002, 2005.
- Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, August 1993 – June 1996.
Education:
- PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
- MS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
- BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Teaching Interests:
- Freshman engineering
- Modern controls
- Robotics
- Mechanical vibrations
- Mechanical design
Awards:
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Award, co-recipient along with Dr. Paul G. Backes and Dr. Larry H. Matthies, May 2008
- NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, October 2004
- NASA Space Act Board Award in recognition of New Technology Report “Hybrid Image-Plane/Stereo (HIPS) Manipulation” and the use of this technology as part of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, September 2004
- Invited Speaker, German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, National Academy of Engineers (NAE) and the German Research Council, Dresden, Germany, May 1998
Research Interests:
- Space robotics
- Classical and modern controls
- Electromechanical systems
- System integration
Selected Publications:
- M. Perrollaz, S. Khorbotly, A. Cool, J.-D. Yoder and E. Baumgartner, "Teachless Teach-Repeat: Toward Vison-based Programming of Industrial Robots," Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, St. Paul, MN, May 2012.
- K. Reid and E. T. Baumgartner, "Toward a New Paradigm: A Bachelor of Scicence Degree with a Major in Engineering Education," Proceedings of the 2011 ASQ STEM Agenda Conference, Menomonie, WI, July 2011.
- E. T. Baumgartner, D. Blubaugh, L. K. Laird and A. Friedlein, “The Marathon Petroleum/ONU Engineer-in-Residence Program,” Proceedings of the ASEE North Central Section Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, April 2009.
- M. L. Robinson, E. T. Baumgartner, K. M. Nickels, and T. E. Litwin, “Hybrid Image Plane/Stereo (HIPS) Manipulation for Robotic Space Applications,” Autonomous Robots, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 83-96, August 2007.
- E. T. Baumgartner, R. G. Bonitz, J. P. Melko, L. R. Shiraishi, P. C. Leger, and A. Trebi-Ollennu, “Mobile Manipulation for the Mars Exploration Rover,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 27-36, June 2006.
- E. T. Baumgartner, “Mars Rovers,” McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology, 2006.
- E. T. Baumgartner, R. G. Bonitz, J. P. Melko, L. R. Shiraishi and P. C. Leger, “The Mars Exploration Rover Instrument Positioning System,” Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, March 2005.
