Robert Sturges honored with emeritus status
Robert Sturges, professor of industrial and systems engineering and mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the university community since 1997, Sturges made significant contributions to the understanding of assembly processes through the joining of mechanical and industrial engineering principles. He was the principal or co-principal investigator on grants researching human activity in robotic environments. He was the author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, two book chapters, a textbook, and 16 U.S. patents.
Sturges directed Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Automation Laboratory for 16 years and established the Industrial Automation Laboratory which he directed for six years.
In the classroom, he taught and lectured in both undergraduate and graduate courses. He directed 22 master's degree and 10 doctoral degree students and served on doctoral degree committees in both the departments of industrial and systems engineering and mechanical engineering.
Sturges received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.
