Adrian Stoica

About Adrian Stoica

Autonomy, AI, Learning, Humanoids, Ground, Aerial and Space - Moon and Mars Robotics, Human-Machine Collaboration, Telepresence…Management experience up to deputy CTO level; managed advanced R&D and technology programs, managed projects both as PI and task manager, 10 years as technical (line) manager. Board level experience with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers including 7 years as President or Vice-President of one of the societies. Entrepreneurial, creative, customer-focused, with a strong record of leading innovative teams, attracting funding through proposals, and timely, quality deliveries. Ability to switch from strategic thinking to tactical/emergency actions. Proven track record of fostering alliances between industry, government, and academia. Selected Achievements- Managed the Robotics Systems Estimation, Decision, and Control group at JPL, overseeing surface mobility autonomy for Mars Rovers- Performed key duties of JPL Deputy Chief Technologist during the transition to a new Chief Technologist; co-responsible for all JPL internal R & TD selection- Managed the JPL Strategic Studies Program and the JPL Innovation to Flight Program- Served as Deputy for JPL US Strategic Partnerships- Managed the JPL-Chevron Alliance, using space technologies to solve oil and gas industry problems- Pioneered space exploration concepts with NIAC funding, initiating research on solar reflectors for lunar power- Improved robot efficiency and intelligent response, particularly in humanoid learning and response to speech, gestures, and biological signals- led successful proposals, including five projects funded by DARPA- Conducted R&D on neural networks and evolutionary algorithms in VLSI circuits, demonstrating on-chip learning and self-reconfiguration, building three generations of reconfigurable analog arrays- Led numerous projects, managing diverse teams for design, simulations, prototyping, V&V, and delivery- Organized and chaired conferences- Chaired committees and boards- executive roles in professional societies- Held Adjunct Professor appointments in the UK and Australia; mentored over 100 interns- Authored over 200 papers (Google Scholar h-index 29); nine patents; numerous keynotes- Demonstrated entrepreneurial skills, fostering collaborations and coordinating diverse teams.Active affiliations(Feb 2026) with:FFRDC: NASA-JPL (Emeritus)Academia: RITGov: USPTOCommercial: LunaSol LLCProfessional Society: SMCSEmail:

Experience

1. Jpl Emeritus

   NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Feb 1996 — Present · Pasadena, CA, US

   2024 JPL Emeritus20••••24: Program Manager, Office of Strategic Planning20••••18: Supervisor, Robotic Systems Estimation Decision and Control: Managing a group performing research and development in intelligence for autonomous robots; many of my people develop software for autonomy and operation of the rovers on Mars.19••••08: Principal Investigator: Initiated and managed research for NASA, DARPA and other agencies. Personal interests in AI/machine learning, autonomy, AI, robotics, HRI, space systems, etc.

Education

• Victoria University

  PhD, Electrical Engineering

  1992 — 1995

• Gheorghe Asachi​ Technical University of Iași

  Master of Engineering - MEng, Electrical and Electronics Engineering

  1981 — 1986

Skills

• Management
• Engineering
• Emerging Security Technologies
• Artificial Intelligence
• Organization
• Algorithms
• Program Management
• Strategic Technology Planning
• Robotics
• Space Systems
• Brain-Computer Interfaces
• Evolvable Hardware
• Innovation Management
• Conference Organization
• R&D
• Machine Learning
• Advanced Technologies for Enhanced Quality of Life
• Technical Leadership
• Proposal Writing
• Cognitive Robotics
• Conference Organisation
• Humanoid Robots
• Strategic Consulting
• Biometrics
• Robot Learning
• Adaptive Systems
• Research
• Human Computer Interaction
• Computational Intelligence
• Technology Management