BIOGRAPHY

Todd Murphey is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine, both at Northwestern University. He is additionally the Director of Transformative Research in Northwestern University’s Office of Research. He received his Ph.D. in Control and Dynamical Systems from the California Institute of Technology in 2002. His laboratory is part of the Center for Robotics and Biosystems, and his research interests include robotics, control, human-machine interaction, and emergent behavior in dynamical systems. He received the National Science Foundation CAREER award, is a recipient of Northwestern University’s Professorship of Teaching Excellence, served as a Senior Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2014-2018) and as Vice President for the Publication Activities Board in the Robotics and Automation Society (2022-2023), and is a recipient of the IEEE RAS Distinguished Service Award.

IEEE ACTIVITIES

SOCIETY:

• IEEE RAS PAB, Vice President and ExCom Member (2022-2023),
• IEEE RAS PAB, Associate Vice President (2024-2025),
• IEEE RAS CAB-Operations, Member (2024-2025)
• IEEE RAS Sustainability Committee, Member (2024-2025)
• IEEE RAS ad hoc Committee to Explore Synergies in Automation and Robotics, Member (2021-2025)
• IEEE RAS Education Committee, Member (2021)
• Senior Editor for IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2014-2018)
• Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (2010-2014)
• Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2008-2012)

CONFERENCES:

• Publication Chair for the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
• Member of 2025 Senior Program Committee for the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
• Local Arrangements Chair for the 2014 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
• Publication Chair for the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE)

QUALIFICATIONS

I have served IEEE RAS for most of my career, particularly in publications. I served as an Associate Editor for both the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, later serving as a Senior Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics. This service culminated in 2022-2023 when I served as the Vice President for Publication Activities. My time in that role included managing open access requirements, coordinating tracking impact factors with Clarivate in collaboration with the Conference Activities Board, managing redesign of the society’s magazine, managing practical implementation of presenting RAS journal articles at RAS conferences, and evaluating review management systems across our publications. Beyond those core responsibilities, I initiated and led the creation of two new society periodicals. The IEEE Robotics and Automation Practice and the IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics were both developed and approved as part of my tenure as VP PAB.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

I led the creation of the new periodical IEEE Robotics and Automation Practice, focused on industry practitioners. This periodical meets a need for a venue that enables industry-oriented projects to be presented to the RAS community. Many robotics research laboratories are funded by industry, with an expectation of industrial relevance in research outcomes. Moreover, many research engineers and scientists working for governments or at national laboratories engage in work that would be too applied for the periodicals that were already in the society portfolio.

I led the effort to bring the journal Field Robotics into our periodical portfolio. The journal already existed, and we were able to fast-track the IEEE approval process for creating the IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics, working and negotiating with IEEE staff, members of the IEEE Periodicals Committee, and the already-existing Field Robotics board.

After my term as VP-PAB, I continued to help develop new periodicals, including the proposal for a new Transactions focused on robot learning. This Phase 1 proposal has recently been approved by the IEEE Periodicals Committee.

I initiated and led the evaluation of our review management software choices, both for journals and, in collaboration with CAB, for conferences. This effort led to smaller IEEE RAS conferences experimenting with OpenReview review management.

I created one of the early Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with enrollment of more than 30,000 students. In IEEE RAS I helped launch the society’s Education Board.

POSITION STATEMENT

One of the greatest opportunities and challenges for IEEE RAS is its significant membership growth, making it the fourth largest society in IEEE. My interest in serving on AdCom is to contribute to managing this growth.

Publications: As IEEE RAS membership grows, demand for new periodicals will grow. I want to get the proposed Transactions on soft robotics approved quickly. The new periodical Robotics and Automation Practice provides industry members a place to publish translational results and participate in the IEEE RAS community. I want to identify other areas of translational work in robotics and automation that will require separate periodicals with dedicated review standards and processes.

Conferences:  Our flagship conferences are growing and will present associated logistical challenges, but we need some of our smaller conferences to grow as well. Our fully sponsored conferences are an opportunity to invest in mid-size conferences that provide our members more opportunities to participate in the RAS community. I will support conference organizers’ efforts to increase their size while expanding the geographic diversity of where our conferences are held, including South America and Africa.

Peer Review: IEEE RAS peer reviewer loads have become unsustainable as our conferences and journals have expanded. Past, current, and incoming RAS leadership support creating a common editorial board across many of our journals and conferences. I will help the incoming president realize this vision, including determining how it should be implemented in a common review management system.

Education: I will use my experience with MOOCs to help the society develop robotics and automation technical MOOCs for industry practitioners. Rather than designing materials for archival longevity, I will focus on the society creating a sustainable model where educational materials are generated quickly, on a yearly basis, as educational needs change, and older materials are retired when they become less relevant to practice.

Financial Management: I will help develop a financial plan for open access publishing, providing financial support for members who would otherwise be unable to participate in society activities, and investing in marketing and social media that amplifies our members’ impact on society.