Kento Tomita

Kento Tomita
  • Position:
    Research / Technical Staff

    Research Scientist
  • Education:
    Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024
  • External Links:
Kento's Quick Links

  • Biography

    Kento's research interests are in autonomy and decision-making algorithms for challenging and safety-critical environments. At MERL, he is currently working on the synthesis of perception and planning. His Ph.D. thesis is about hazard detection and avoidance for autonomous planetary landings, where novel algorithms for hazard detection and hazard avoidance guidance were developed.

  • Internships with Kento

    • CA0165: Internship - Optimization of Aerial Robot Coordination

      MERL is seeking a self-motivated and qualified individual to work on developing an integer/mixed-integer programming solver customarily designed for coordination planning of aerial drones. The ideal candidate will be a PhD student in computer science, mathematics, industrial engineering, or a related discipline, with a solid background in integer optimization. Preferred skills include knowledge of branch-price-and-cut algorithm or column generation, and hands-on experience with callbacks of the Gurobi Optimizer; strong programming skills and experience with at least one of Python, Julia, C/C++, Matlab are also expected. Publication of results produced during the internship is desired. The expected start date is in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026, for a duration of 3- months.

      Required Specific Experience

      • Significant hands-on experience with integer optimization.
        • Experience with trajectory optimization is a plus.
      • Fluency in at least one of: Python, Julia, C/C++, Matlab
      • Completed their MS, or >30% of their PhD program

    See All Internships at MERL