Dr. Kai Xu passed his thesis defense exam on 8/5/2009. His thesis exam committee included his advisor Professor Nabil Simaan as well as Professor Richard Longman. Professor Peter Allen from the department of Computer Science and Dr. Dennis Fowler from the Department of Surgery.

Kai's picture with his Ph.D. dissertation committee.
From Left to right: Dr. Allen, Dr. Simaan, Kai (now Dr. Xu :-)), Dr. Longman, Dr. Fowler, Dr. Kysar

His thesis titled "“Design, Modeling and Analysis of Continuum Robots as Surgical Assistants with Intrinsic Sensory Capabilities” included a thorough study of the experimental and the theoretical aspects of flexible continuum robots for surgical applications.

Dr. Xu was unianimously nominated for an Award of Distinction by his thesis exam committee for a thesis that is uniquely outstanding in its breadth, depth, originality, and rigor.

On August 21, 2009, Dr. Xu will leave ARMA to join as an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiaotong Joint Institute.

ARMA members wished Kai the best of luck pursuing his future career in a farewell party. Here are some pictures: