Sourav Selvaraj

I am an M.S. Robotics Engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, working on legged robot control, contact-aware locomotion, and learning-based methods for dynamic robotic systems.

I am applying to PhD programs for Fall 2027.

At WPI, my research focuses on enabling legged robots to interact with the physical world through sustained contact. In my current project, SCRUB, an armless quadruped uses its own body to press and slide a tool along surfaces it has no model of — estimating the surface frame online and regulating contact force with centroidal model predictive control and whole-body control on Unitree Go1 hardware. I am also co-first author of GaitNet, which combines learned foothold costs with reinforcement-learning gait selection on top of perceptive MPC. The broader goal of my research is to build robotic systems that are robust, physically grounded, and capable of adapting across tasks, environments, and morphologies.

My research interests are legged robotics, whole-body control, and robot learning. I am particularly interested in combining the structure and reliability of classical model-based control with the adaptability of learning-based methods.

Before joining WPI, I completed my undergraduate studies at the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli. More details about my research, projects, and experience can be found in my curriculum vitae.

Away from the lab, I’m an avid photographer — a few favorites live on my photography page.