About

Hi! I’m Sheeraz, a PhD candidate in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. I am working under the supervision of Prof. Yu She at the MARS Lab. My research focuses on robotics, embodied sensing, and intelligent physical interaction, with an emphasis on building and experimentally validating real robotic systems.

Prior to Purdue, I completed my M.Phil. at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where I was affiliated with the Cheng Kar-Shun Robotics Institute. My master’s thesis concentration was robotics, and I received extensive training in robot manipulation, robot perception, and learning-based methods. Before joining HKUST, I completed my undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at Aligarh Muslim University, India.

I am currently applying for faculty and postdoctoral positions in robotics, mechanical engineering, and industrial/engineering systems, with a long-term goal of building research programs that integrate sensing, mechanics, and learning for intelligent robotic interaction.

News

[April 2025]
I succesfully passed my PhD Preliminary Examination!

[June 2024]
Our work on multimodal tactile sensing was featured in
Purdue University College of Agriculture News.
👉 Read the article

My work and research

I use engineering, mathematical, and computational tools to design and study soft, compliant, and bio-inspired robotic systems, with a particular emphasis on multimodal sensing and physical interaction. My research is inherently interdisciplinary and intersects robotics, biomechanics, materials and manufacturing, and learning-enabled perception.

As robots become increasingly integrated into human-centered environments—such as manufacturing, healthcare, and assistive systems—robust and safe physical interaction becomes critical. My work explores how compliant mechanisms, tactile and multimodal sensing, and learning-based inference can be co-designed to enable robots to perceive contact, adapt to uncertainty, and operate reliably in real-world settings.

More broadly, I am interested in embodied intelligence, where sensing, mechanics, and control are treated as a unified system rather than independent components. Through this research direction, I aim to contribute robotic systems that are not only technically capable, but also interpretable, robust, and suitable for deployment beyond controlled laboratory environments.

This website serves as a platform to share my research, teaching, and outreach activities. If you would like to discuss related topics, potential collaborations, or student mentorship opportunities, please feel free to reach out.