Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Bongsu Kim, Ph.D., Founder and CEO
Bongsu Kim is the founder and CEO of Roboligent. With his entrepreneurship mind and in-depth robotics background, he drives Roboligent to become one of the key automation solution players in the era of industry 4.0. Previously, he developed an advanced exoskeleton robot widely acknowledged by many media and published in prestigious journals during his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. Before it, he worked at KEPCO, the largest Korean electric utility company, developing levitating flywheel energy storage systems and power plant diagnostic systems after graduating from KAIST (M.S.) and Hanyang University (B.S.), top engineering schools in Korea.
James DeBacker, ROBOTICS Engr.
Before joining Roboligent after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, he worked at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) developing control algorithms for research in cutting-edge combustion engines and electric car battery testing, working with GE and the DoD among many others. Currently, he brings 8 years of robotics and control experience to developing the next generation of force-controlled robots.
Jovita Ezeokafor, SOFTWARE Engr.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she developed data analysis software for the development of a particle detection instrument for a NASA IMAP proposal and for scientific data retrieved from NASA's JUNO mission. She is currently in charge of robot software system development.
Yi Herng Ong, Mechanical Engr.
He earned his master's degree in Robotics from Oregon State University where his research was specialized in Reinforcement learning and robot manipulation. His research outcomes were published at top-notch robotics conferences such as IROS and ICRA. He posses in-depth experience with multiple robotic manipulators and reinforcement learning in robotic grasping.
Seonhwa Shin, Operator Officer
She worked at Korean national research institutes (KIOM, KRIBB) for seven years after her master egree in medical statistics from Ewha Womans University in Korea. She is currently in charge of operating, marketing, and financial management.
Alessandro Biglioli, Advisor
Alessandro, a successful serial entrepreneur, is the founder of Carbon Engineering backed by Bill Gates, and a shareholder of Pharmajet and Aidar health. He currently serves as the CEO of Elsius Biomedical Inc. With his extensive experience in executing and advising diverse tech companies and extensive network, he's been an invaluable resource for evaluating and brainstorming our strategic business plans. He has always been involved in projects and technologies that when taken to fruition would have a beneficial impact for all.
Karen Smetana, Advisor
Accomplished Technical Product Manager with strong engineering and leadership experience. She is skilled in program management, agile development, and lean Six-Sigma for hardware. She has built software for mobile phones at Motorola, developed processes for drone safety for CNN, served as a TPM at Facebook Reality Labs, and has a passion for coaching and mentoring innovative technology startups. Karen brings her experience leading enterprise software development to add oversight and expertise to our engineering team.