How the 2025 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards Honorees Made Their Mark

The spotlight shines on two dynamic individuals as the global robotics community honors their work and impact during Automate 2025, which takes place May 12-15 in Detroit at Huntington Place.

Stuart “Stu” C. Shepherd and Educational Pioneer Dr. Peter Corke will be presented with the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards on May 14.

The honorees join an exclusive group of 141 leaders who have demonstrated excellence in technology development, application, education and leadership.

2025 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards Honorees

Stuart C. Shepherd — Stuart “Stu” C. Shepherd

Stuart “Stu” C. Shepherd, co-founder and president of Shepherd Solutions Inc., was recognized for his distinguished industry leadership. His 46 years in the industry include service as chairperson of both the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), now A3, and the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Shepherd’s robotics career credentials include:

He is co-founder and president of Shepherd Solutions Inc., an industry consulting firm.
He held automation integration roles at General Motors, and sales and top leadership roles at FANUC America Corp., KUKA AG, Güdel AG, Universal Robots A/S, and consulting roles at Gain & Co. and HowToRobot.com.
He is past chairperson at both the RIA and A3, a current A3 Robotics board member and an R15.05 safety committee member.
He is a member of the American Welding Society, serving on the D16 Robotic and Automatic Welding Committee.

“I am truly humbled and grateful to receive this award,” Shepherd said. “My career in robotics and automation has been both intellectually challenging and rewarding. I’m honored to have been a part of this industry for many years and look forward to watching and contributing to its ongoing success and evolution.”

Dr. Peter Corke, distinguished professor emeritus at Queensland University of Technology, is being recognized for his contributions to education. His impact in robotics education and research, including the creation of the widely used open-source “Robotics Toolbox” software, his bestselling textbook “Robotics, Vision, and Control,” and developing the Robot Academy online video resource, are just a few of his accomplishments.

Corke’s robotics career credentials include:

Currently distinguished professor emeritus at Queensland University of Technology, where he co-founded the robotics discipline. The program is one of the largest robotics research and teaching groups in Australia.
He worked for the national research agency CSIRO as a researcher and then as the founding director of the CSIRO Autonomous Systems Lab.
Early work focused on the automation of underground and surface mining equipment and farm vehicles, Internet of Things, visual-inertial navigation of flying and underwater drones, and mobile manipulation.
He holds a number of patents.
He is currently chief roboticist at robotic-packing company LYRO Robotics and technical advisor to drone-mapping company Emesent.
He is a fellow of the IEEE, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Science; former editor-in-chief of the IEEE Robotics & Automation magazine; and a member of advisory and editorial boards for the International Journal of Robotics Research, IEEE Trans. Robotics Practice and IEEE Trans. Field Robotics.

“Being recognized with an Engelberger Award for my contributions to robotics education is easily one of the biggest highlights of my career,” Corke said. “I’ve always believed that making robotics knowledge accessible to all is crucial for advancing the industry.”

How Winners Are Selected

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) administers the award. According to A3, the winners are selected by a panel of industry leaders based on all present and past nominations from the industry and are voted on by the past chairs of the RIA. Winners receive a $5,000 honorarium, a commemorative medallion and a plaque.

Awards Dinner

An awards dinner is planned at Automate 2025 (for May 14 from 5:15 to 8:30 p.m. at Huntington Place). Tickets for the event are available for purchase when registering for Automate 2025.

Click here to nominate a candidate for the 2026 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards.