Ibrahima S. Sow
Hi! I’m a second-year graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering (Robotics & Controls) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a Belgian American Educational Foundation Scholar, and a member of the Robotic Exploration Lab. I am actively looking for full-time roles in Robotics, Aerospace, or any other interesting opportunities, so definitely reach out!
Advised by Pr. Zac Manchester and Pr. Howie Choset, my current research focuses on real-time optimization-based planning, control, and navigation for agile robots and autonomous spacecraft. I also actively work on the system design, guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), flight software, and communication subsystems for our satellite missions (Py4, Argus).
Previously, I graduated with a B.S. in Electromechanical Engineering from Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) in 2022. My undergraduate research was centered on the development, experimental testing, and control of new sensors and actuators for minimally invasive endoscopic and surgical tools, and on local model-order reduction optimization for spacecraft reentry simulation.
I have interned at Space Applications Services as an Avionics and Embedded Systems Engineer Intern, primarily working on Ground Support Equipment (GSE) for payload development and testing, and at Redwire Space, as a Mechanical Engineer Intern, contributing to on-orbit space servicing systems.
I love building systems that move fast, burn hard, and think smart. Lately, I’ve been focused on everything that makes metal come alive: real-time trajectory planning, control, and deep learning for high-performance autonomous systems, both on Earth and beyond.
news
Nov 12, 2024 | Our On-Orbit Range-Only Navigation paper has been accepted to IEEE Aerospace 2025! |
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Jul 4, 2024 | We presented our PY4 satellite mission paper to the SmallSat conference |
Jun 24, 2024 | I presented our Soft Capture paper at iSpaRo’24 in Luxembourg |
Jun 10, 2024 | I’ve been awarded a Conference Student Sponsorship by the European Space Agency (ESA) |
Jan 10, 2023 | Started my master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University! |
selected publications
- On-Orbit Demonstration of Range-Only Navigation for Small Satellite FormationsIEEE Aerospace Conference, Mar 2025
- The PY4 Mission: A Low-Cost Demonstration of CubeSat Formation-Flying TechnologiesIn AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites (SmallSat), Aug 2024
- Multi-IMU Sensor Fusion for Legged Robotsunder review at IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Jun 2024