He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley in 1996 and subsequently founded the vehicle dynamics group at Daimler-Benz's Vehicle Systems Technology Center in Portland, Oregon. While at Daimler, he investigated simulation techniques for heavy trucks and worked with the Freightliner Corporation on the design of the Tuf-Trac vocational suspension and the Panther FL Rapid Intervention Vehicle. He joined Stanford in 1998 and, in 2002, was awarded the NSF CAREER award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He is currently director of the Dynamic Design Laboratory and co-director of the Center for Design Research. His research interests include driver assistance systems, by-wire vehicle control, combustion control and energy methods for nonlinear controller design.