{ "153756-21916281": { "datetime_modified":"20261015T205417", "datetime_start":"20261110T160000", "datetime_end":"20261110T170000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-11-10", "date_end":"2026-11-10", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"17:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Robotics Department Seminar Series: Beyond the Static World: Rethinking Manipulation Through the Lens of Dynamics", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Robotics Department Seminar Series: Beyond the Static World: Rethinking Manipulation Through the Lens of Dynamics: Andrew Morgan", "event_subtitle":"Andrew Morgan", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"Robotics Department Seminar Series (https:\/\/robotics.umich.edu\/events\/robotics-seminar-series\/)\nSpeaker: Andrew Morgan, Research Scientist - Tech Lead, Robotics and AI Institute (RAI)\nTitle: \"Beyond the Static World: Rethinking Manipulation Through the Lens of Dynamics\"\nDate: Tuesday, November 10, 2026\nTime: 4:00 - 5:00 pm ET\nLocation: FRB 2300 + Zoom\nZoom Link: https:\/\/myumi.ch\/WDMJm\nMeeting ID: 923 4651 9853\nPasscode: 802676\n\nAbstract: Recent advancements in Vision-Language-Action models and Behavior Cloning are reshaping decades-old assumptions in robot manipulation, yet this progress remains largely anchored to a static worldview. The community continues to treat manipulation as an isolated end-effector problem, ignoring the reality that in unstructured environments, every physical contact is a collision and thus a dynamic event. For decades, commercial hardware has been optimized for stiffness and precision, resulting in effective endpoint masses an order of magnitude heavier than a human arm. This creates a severe impedance mismatch: unplanned contact results in undesired energy transfer, especially when interacting with lightweight objects that have fast dynamic timescales. To address this fundamental limitation, we introduce AthenaZero. Designed to minimize system inertia without sacrificing control authority, AthenaZero achieves a human-equivalent effective endpoint mass. This architecture natively supports the physics of impact, enabling a suite of dynamic manipulation tasks including throwing, catching, batting, and juggling. By prioritizing physical fluency over rigid precision, AthenaZero offers a new hardware foundation for contact-rich manipulation. \n\nSpeaker Bio: Andrew (Andy) Morgan is a Research Scientist at The Robotics & AI Institute in Cambridge, MA. He received his PhD from Yale University's GRAB Lab under the supervision of Prof. Aaron Dollar in March of 2023. In this adventure, he was the recipient of the NSF GRFP and the RSS: Pioneers awards. His research mainly focuses on planning, control, and design for robot hands and manipulators. During his PhD, he also spent time at Amazon Robotics AI and TU Darmstadt working with Prof. Jan Peters. At RAI, he focuses on the design and control of low-impedance, high-torque manipulators for pushing towards dynamic contact interactions with robots. For more information, visit his website: https:\/\/asmorgan24.github.io", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"153756-21916281@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/153756", "building_id":"1005418", "building_name":"Ford Robotics Building", "campus_maps_id":"647", "room":"2300", "location_name":"Ford Robotics Building", "has_livestream":1, "livestream_type":"zoom", "livetream_require_login":0, "livestream_id":"92346519853", "livestream_password":"802676", "livestream_link":"https:\/\/umich.zoom.us\/j\/92346519853", "cost":"", "tags":["Engineering","Free","Robotics"], "website":"https:\/\/robotics.umich.edu\/events\/robotics-seminar-series\/", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Michigan Robotics", "group_id":"3998", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/10\/event_153756_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21916281 } , "148434-21904271": { "datetime_modified":"20261107T174948", "datetime_start":"20261110T160000", "datetime_end":"20261110T180000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-11-10", "date_end":"2026-11-10", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"18:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Tanner Lecture on Human Values | Kieran Setiya", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Tanner Lecture on Human Values | Kieran Setiya: Laughter in the Dark: The Consolation of Comedy", "event_subtitle":"Laughter in the Dark: The Consolation of Comedy", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"Can humour help us cope with hardship without distancing or denial? Does laughter at misfortune manifest what Bergson called \u201ca momentary anesthesia of the heart\u201d\u2014or worse? This talk takes up a puzzle about confessional comedy: why isn\u2019t it vicious to draw pleasure from another\u2019s suffering, as we do when comics joke about trauma? The answer turns on the fine structure of empathy; and the upshot is a theory of confessional stand-up as bespoke theodicy: a temporary, interpersonal solution to the emotional problem of evil. This solution is one we can administer to ourselves, using humour to confront adversity. Content note: violence and sexual assault.\n\nKieran Setiya is Peter de Florez Professor of Philosophy at MIT, where he works on ethics and related questions about human agency and human knowledge. He is the author of Reasons without Rationalism, Knowing Right From Wrong,Midlife: A Philosophical Guide and Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, which was selected as a Best Book of 2022 by The Economist and The New Yorker. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, the LA Review of Books, the TLS, the London Review of Books, the Boston Review, The Atlantic, Aeon, and The Yale Review, as well as numerous academic journals. He is working on a book about laughter as a guide to life.\n\nLecture\nRackham Amphitheatre\nTuesday, November 10, 2026\n4:00 PM - 6:00 PM\n\nSymposium\nRackham Amphitheatre\nWednesday, November 11, 2026\n10:00 AM - 12:30 PM\nKieran Setiya (MIT) will be joined by Beck Krefting (Skidmore College), Lucy O'Brien (University College London), and Sarah Buss (UM) for a symposium.\nScott Hershovitz (UM Law) will moderate.\n\nMore information about Kieran Setiya can be found here: http:\/\/www.ksetiya.net\/\n\nAbout the Tanner Lectures on Human Values\nMichigan is one of nine institutions worldwide that hosts an annual Tanner Lecture on Human Values. Tanner Lectures are funded through the generosity of the late Professor of Philosophy, industrialist, and philanthropist, Obert Clark Tanner, and his wife, Grace Tanner. Professor Tanner wrote:I hope these lectures will contribute to the intellectual and moral life of mankind. I see them simply as a search for a better understanding of human behavior and human values. This understanding may be pursued for its own intrinsic worth, but it may also eventually have practical consequences for the quality of personal and social life.Although the Tanners established the supporting endowment in 1978, Joel Feinberg's April 1977 lecture at Michigan inaugurated the international series of Tanner Lectures.Each year, Michigan has a Tanner Lecture combined with an interdisciplinary symposium to which we invite distinguished scholars from around the world. These events are free and open to the public. The complete list of Tanner Lectures at Michigan is available here: \nhttps:\/\/lsa.umich.edu\/philosophy\/news-events\/all-events\/tanner-lecture\/tanner-lectures-on-human-values-at-the-university-of-michigan.html.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"148434-21904271@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/148434", "building_id":"1000205", "building_name":"1027 E. Huron Building", "campus_maps_id":"537", "room":"Amphitheater", "location_name":"1027 E. Huron Building", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Philosophy"], "website":"https:\/\/www.ksetiya.net\/", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Department of Philosophy, Department of Political Science", "group_id":"3186", "website":"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/philosophy" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/event_148434_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/07\/crop-event_148434_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":2, "first_occurrence":21904271 } }