By MyEngineers
Nigeria’s Oluwami, “Wami,” Dosunmu-Ogunbi has become the first black woman to earn Phd in Robotics at Univeristy of Michigan.
She delivered a speech at the Michigan Engineering Graduate Student Commencement Ceremony at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. She had the honor of being selected to speak at not one, not two, but three graduation ceremonies at the University of Michigan: College of Engineering Graduate Student Ceremony (May 1, 2024), Commencement (May 4, 2024), and Black Celebratory (May 4, 2024)
During her speech on May 4, Wami Ogunbi spoke about the importance of advocates and mentors in enabling her to achieve her goal. She also spoke about the importance of inclusion.
Many PhD students start programs without a clear idea of their end goals, and Ogunbi owns to being one of them.
As she tells it, it was the hat—a hexagonal velvet beret with a golden tassel—that sold her on dedicating half a decade or so to the research enterprise after wearing her bachelor’s mortarboard. But now, as she graduates, she sees opportunities to use her engineering knowledge to improve the lives of other people.
“A Michigan Engineer is one who does not just provide scientific and technological leadership,” she said at the engineering graduate student commencement ceremony last Wednesday, “but also is one who is intellectually curious, socially conscious, creates collaborative solutions to societal problems, and promotes an inclusive and innovative community of service for the common good.”
Wami came to U-M’s mechanical engineering PhD program decorated with academic honors—such as her MVP award from the University of Illinois’ Pi Tau Sigma chapter, the mechanical engineering honor society. But she failed her qualifying exams in the mechanical engineering PhD at University of Michigan program.
Faced with exiting during the pandemic-induced recession, she turned to her mentor Chad Jenkins, a professor of robotics, for advice. It was clear to Jenkins that if a student like Ogunbi were leaving, something had gone wrong.
“Chad acted immediately, no hesitation,” she recounted at her PhD thesis defense. “He reached out to his networks and got Jessy on board.”
She referred to Jessy Grizzle, a professor of robotics who, like Jenkins, was one of the key architects of Robotics at Michigan.
Grizzle, who had intended to retire, welcomed Ogunbi to his lab as his final PhD student. He credits his students at the time for contributing technical and social support, creating an environment where she could thrive.
Still, Ogunbi had to face her qualifying exams all over again. She faltered, but this time Kira Barton, a professor of robotics, and Robert Gregg, an associate professor of robotics, asked questions that rebuilt Ogunbi’s confidence and got her back on track.
“When Wami came out of her shell, she exploded with creativity and resilience, the two key features of a successful PhD,” said Grizzle.
In her research, Ogunbi had to be careful, working with an older robot for which manufacturer support ended during her studies. She wouldn’t be able to get spare parts if something broke. Grizzle’s Cassie Blue, a two-legged walking robot inspired by a flightless bird called a cassowary, was one of the first Cassie models ever made by Agility Robotics.
When it stopped working, Ram Vasudevan, an associate professor of robotics, provided his Cassie Maize robot so that Ogunbi could finish testing her control algorithm. She finished in four years, developing a new stair-climbing controller for bipedal walking robots as her chief result.
While it was successful in simulations, she didn’t get the chance to see it work on Cassie, which Grizzle attributes to the robot’s high maintenance needs. However, she did perform the first demonstration of a bipedal robot stepping on, riding and stepping off a moving walkway.
“I do not stand here on my own two feet alone. None of us got here by our individual merit alone,”
Ogunbi said at the engineering graduate commencement ceremony, recounting her own story of failure and support.
“I share this story to emphasize the critical importance for us to be socially conscious and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in our solutions.”
Dosunmu-Ogunbi ascribed her accomplishments supportive faculty and peers.
“Consider for a moment who supported you: Who were the giants in your life?” she said.
“Though our specific struggles may have been different, we are united in overcoming our challenges.”
Wami who came from a family of medical doctors, noted that she did not choose medicine becahse she fear the sight of blood.
Her mother, Dr. Sesi Dosunmu-Ogunbi, from Badagry, Lagos, is a paediatric gastroenterology specialist with over 36 years of experience in the medical field. While her father, Dr Adedoyin Dosumu-Ogunbi is an experienced Clinician and Internist with over 38 years of multi-speciality experience in the global health care industry.
Ogunbi has been an active community builder in robotics, earning an MLK Spirit Award from the College of Engineering for mentoring and inspiration as well as being named an outreach ambassador by Robotics for three years running, 2021-23. And she is a passionate communicator, named a runner-up in the College of Engineering’s 3-minute-thesis competition.
Beyond U-M, she has been inducted into the Bouchet Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity in graduate education and the professoriate.
Prior to obtaining her PhD in the Robotics Department at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, where her research work focus is in controls with applications in bipedal locomotion, She had bagged her MS, Robotics (2021) from University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MSE, Mechanical Engineering (2020) from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and BS, Mechanical Engineering with honors, Hoeft Technology and Management minor (2017).
Through her academic journey she has accumulated various awards.
Wami also has an interest in effectively disseminating complex engineering and robotics concepts to a wide audience, and so one of her long-term goals is to become a professor.
Ref: Michigan Engineering