Manav Vora

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, working with Prof. Melkior Ornik in the Learning, Autonomy, Decision, and Control (LEADCAT) Lab. I previously completed my bachelor’s degree (with honors) in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Systems and Controls Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). My research focuses on developing scalable algorithms for multi-agent systems and robotics in constrained, stochastic environments. In particular, I strive to create methods that can seamlessly adapt to a variety of resource, safety, and temporal constraints—ultimately enabling robust autonomy across diverse real-world settings.

Beyond my research, I’m passionate about sports (both watching and playing), staying active at the gym, traveling, discovering new cuisines, and immersing myself in music—especially EDM. I am also a huge Manchester United fan, even though it’s tough times right now.

_{Currently reading: The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu and Deep Generative Models by Jakub Tomczak.
Currently watching: The Diplomat on Netflix.
Currently playing: Marvel Rivals}