Sivashankar Sivakanthan

Dr. Sivashankar Sivakanthan is the Chief of Staff for the Robotic Assisted Mobility and Manipulation Platform (RAMMP) project at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) at the University of Pittsburgh. He plays a central leadership role in the ARPA-H initiative funded up to $41.5M, supporting large-scale, multi-institutional research focused on advancing mobility and independence for people with disabilities.

In his role, Dr. Sivashankar provides technical and operational leadership across robotics hardware and software development, autonomy and perception systems, digital-twin and simulation workflows, milestone-based execution, and partner coordination across academia, industry, and government. He serves as a primary technical liaison to federal program officers and supports program governance, risk management, reporting, demonstrations, and commercialization planning for complex, high-impact research programs.

Dr. Sivashankar’s research spans robotic wheelchairs, assistive manipulation, accessible autonomous transportation, and accessible air travel for powered mobility device users. His scholarly contributions include robotic wheelchair taxonomy and readiness modeling, perception-based navigation systems, dynamic stability and suspension design, and mixed-methods research informing policy and inclusive design. His work emphasizes participatory, human-centered approaches and the translation of research into deployable, real-world solutions.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Sivashankar earned his BSc in Financial Mathematics from Brunel University of London, focusing on probability and stochastic algorithms, and spent over six years working in the financial division of a Fortune 100 company prior to transitioning into rehabilitation engineering. He earned his Master’s and PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Pittsburgh under the guidance of Dr. Rory Cooper. In 2014, he received a Meritorious Service Medal at Windsor Castle for his service to the British Scouting community.