The RObotics and Computational KINematics Innovation (ROCKIN) Lab at the
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology seeks to develop cutting-edge transformative technologies.
The ROCKIN Lab is dedicated to the development of novel complex robotic mechanical systems that generate spatial motion and
force transmission. The Lab seeks to advance the design methodologies for these challenging mechanical systems as well as techniques
for their utilization in industrial, manufacturing, and consumer applications.
The graduates of the ROCKIN Lab are well primed to produce disruptive technologies that will directly benefit the USA’s manufacturing
enterprise. They are well prepared to conduct cutting edge research in kinematics & robotics; apply the latest techniques in creative
ideation & design; design, build, and test prototypes; and publish their findings.
The mission of the ROCKIN Lab is to holistically educate engineers in robotics & computational kinematics as well as in creative ideation so that they may design innovative robotic mechanical systems.
The vision of the ROCKIN Lab is to be the world leader in the research and development of innovative robotic mechanical systems.
Please visit this page where we acknowledge those that have helped us establish and grow the ROCKIN Lab at South Dakota Mines.
Apply to add your name here!
Kyden DeGross
Hunter Harrison
Trinity Lindner
Hunter Harrison
Eli Lowry
Jack McIntosh
John Miller
Makara Nichols
Kaitlyn O'Donnell
David Robbins
McGill University
Kent School
State University of New York at Stony Brook
National Cheng Kung University
University of California at Irvine
University of Dayton
Visited Feb. - Jun. 2013
Hoschule Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
(Germany)
Visited Apr. 2017 - Aug. 2017
École Centrale de Nantes
(France)
Visited Oct. 2012 - Feb. 2013
Hoschule Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
(Germany)
Visited Aug. 2016 - Jan. 2017
Hubei University of Education
(China)
Many of the publications provided here have links to downloadable files. These files are provided solely for the educational use
of faculty members or students that are pursuing graduate or undergraduate degrees in an accredited not-for-profit university. The
files are not to be used by anyone involved in a for-profit enterprise or in other commercial uses.
Click here for a listing of our 2005 - 2009 publications in BibTeX format.
Click here for a listing of our 2000 - 2004 publications in BibTeX format.
Click here for a listing of our 1995 - 1999 publications in BibTeX format.
Click here for a listing of our 1990 - 1994 publications in BibTeX format.
Dr. Larochelle has been recognized by ASME for "dedicated voluntary service to the society marked by outstanding performance, demonstrated leadership, prolonged and committed service, devotion, enthusiasm, and faithfulness".
Dr. Larochelle has been elected to serve as chair of ASME’s Committee on Engineering Education (CEE) (2024 – 2027). The CEE is responsible for promoting high quality ME and MET educational programs.
Dr. Larochelle received the Impact Leader Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success for exemplifying a commitment to excellence in developing student leaders (NSLS 2022).
Dr. Larochelle has been elected to serve as a member at large on the ASME's Mechanical Engineering Department Heads Executive Committee (ASME MEDHEC) (2021-2023). The MEDHEC oversees the ASME's mechanical engineering department heads committee and their activities including the annual ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education Leadership Summit (MEED).
Dr. Larochelle has been elected to serve as Chair of the ASME's Committee on Engineering Accreditation (ASME CEA) (2021-2022). The CEA oversees the ABET accreditation of mechanical engineering programs around the globe, defines ABET's mechanical engineering program criteria, and is responsible for selecting, training, and evaluating ABET's mechanical engineering program evaluators.
Ismayuzri Ishak and Mark Moffett (doctoral students) were awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2018 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2018 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC) and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (CIE) in Quebec City, Quebec (Canada).
Ismayuzri Ishak and Mark Moffett (doctoral students) were awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2017 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC) and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (CIE) in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jugesh Sundram (masters student) was awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2014 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2014 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC) and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (CIE) in Buffalo, New York.
Dr. Larochelle received the Outstanding Professor Award from the ASME Student Section at Florida Tech. This award is voted on by the students and is given to the professor that has "demonstrated an ability to enhance the education of his students, grow a strong research program, and advance the Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department".
Venkatesh Venkataramanujam (doctoral student) was awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2011 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2011 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC) and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (CIE) in Washington D.C.
Dr. Larochelle served as the General Conference Chair for the 2010 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC) and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (CIE) that took place August 15-18, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Venkatesh Venkataramanujam (doctoral student) was awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2010 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2010 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences in Montreal, Canada.
A multidisciplinary capstone design project, lead by RASSL's own Shashank Bishnoi, to design and build an autonomous robot to compete in the 2010 DARPA sponsored Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition received the President's Award and Best of Show at Florida Tech's 2010 Northrop Grumman Engineering and Science Student Design Showcase.
Dr. Larochelle received this award from Florida Tech's College of Engineering for his efforts to support the ABET accreditation of the College's eight programs.
Christina Lucas (BSME 2011) received a prestigious Women In Defense HORIZONS Scholarship. She was one of only three women to receive an award this year.
Prof. Larochelle has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Venkatesh Venkataramanujam (doctoral student) was awarded a $1,250 travel grant in the 2007 NSF/ASME Design Essay Competition to attend the 2007 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Venkatesh Venkataramanujam (MSME 2007) and Prof. Larochelle received the Best Paper Award at the 2007 Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics for their paper "A Metric for Planar Displacements". Download the pdf file here.
Daniel Brown (MSME 2005) was invited to this national competition in Long Beach, California as one of the finalists. His design "An Auxiliary Mirror Positioning System for PV Arrays" was awarded fourth place.
Dr. Larochelle received this award from Florida Tech's College of Engineering for teaching excellence and the development of innovative curricula at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Drs. Larochelle, Gutierrez, and Engblom received this award from ASME International for their innovative revision of the Introduction to Mechanical Engineering experience at Florida Tech. Download the pdf file here.
Agnes Agius (MSME 2002) was one of four students to receive the 2001 Link Foundation Scholarship.
Stacy Dees (MSME 2001) was one of four students to receive the 2000 Link Foundation Scholarship.
Dr. Larochelle was selected to join a select group of 6 ASME International Members to participate in ASMEs's Leadership Development Initiative(LDI).
1st place for the unpublished paper on "The Infinity Fan'' by Stacy Dees (MSME 2001). The Infinity Fan (US Patent #6213715) is a unique desktop or standing fan design whose oscillating motion is generated by a spherical four-bar mechanism.
Dr. Larochelle received this award for his service to the College of Engineering which includes: hosting the 1998 Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics, his involvement in the FIRST Robot Competition, and advising the ASME Student Section at Florida Tech.
Stacy Dees (MSME 2001) was invited to this national competition in Irvine, California as one of the finalists. Her design "The Infinity Fan'' was awarded fourth place. Her presentation described the kinematics of spherical mechanisms.
Stacy Dees (MSME 2001) was invited to this national competition in Atlanta, Georgia as one of the finalists. Her design "The Infinity Fan'' was awarded fourth place. Her presentation was aimed at introducing spherical mechanisms as a tool of manufacturing automation for repetitive tasks. She also described the design and manufacturing processes involved and the simplifications made to the manufacturing process.
Dr. Larochelle received the MDI Mechanical Simulation Software Award for his paper entitled "SPADES: Software for Synthesizing Spatial 4C Mechanisms'' at the 1998 ASME(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Design Engineering Technical Conferences.
In its inaugural year the Space Coast FIRST team placed 14th of 113 teams at the National Finals held at Disney's Epcot theme park. RASSL participants included John Ketchel, Juan Davilla, and Prof. Larochelle.
This $10,000 award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities was presented to Dr. Larochelle for his work in advancing the state of the art in spherical mechanism design.
5th place for the design of "The Florida Tech Hinge'' by Ned DeWitt (BSME awards-1995), Stewart Johnson (BSME 1996), and Michael Carmichael (BSME awards-1995) under the supervision of Dr. Larochelle and Prof. Stiles. The Florida Tech Hinge is a spherical four-bar mechanism designed to deploy and retract the wings on the Carnard roadable aircraft.
Visit our YouTube channel to see all of our videos!
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
ROCKIN alumnus Michael Giordano (MS 2005) appears briefly in the 2011 blockbuster film
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Song of the Screw
In the summer of 2000 Prof. Larochelle had the privilege of being invited to participate in a special commemorative symposium honoring the life and work of Robert Stawell Ball on the 100th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work A Treatise on the Theory of Screws.
This Symposium took place at the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, England, July 9-11, 2000. At that Symposium the attendees were treated to a performance of the Song of the Screw. Click the link below to download to a recording of the performance.
The Song of the Screw
(Lyrics here)
Rockwell Collins TV Commericial
While in graduate school Prof. Larochelle was part of a small group of graduate students from the University of California at Irvine that were asked to appear in a commercial for Rockwell Corporation (now Rockwell Collins).
The commercial was made to promote Rockwell and to publicize its committment to higher education as one of Prof. Larochelle's colleagues in the Robotics Lab, Dr. Brian McDonell, was being supported by a doctoral fellowship from Rockwell and his work, the development of a pneumatic robot, is featured in the commercial. It was a very interesting experience for all involved. The commercial was directed by two time Academy Award Nominee Roland Joffe.
Use this link to view the commercial just as it aired on Nightline, Meet the Press, 60 Minutes, and many other programs.
Click here.
Please click here to visit the site of Prof. Ferdinand Freudenstein's Doctoral Descendant Academic Tree.