Rogerio Bonatti, a Ph.D. candidate in the Robotics Institute, is one of 10 students across North America who will receive Microsoft Research Dissertation Grants to support research for their Ph.D. thesis.

Bonatti, who expects to complete his dissertation next year, has focused his research at the intersection of machine learning theory and motion planning. His dissertation is "Active Vision: Autonomous Aerial Cinematography With Learned Artistic Decision-Making."

"I create methods for robust robot intelligence in real-world settings," Bonatti said. "My work has been deployed for multiple applications, ranging from autonomous cinematography with aerial vehicles all the way to drone racing." He interned at Microsoft Research last summer. He studied mechatronics engineering at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and spent a year at Cornell University before beginning his graduate studies at CMU in 2016.

Now in its fourth year, the Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant offers up to $25,000 to support the research of students nearing the completion of doctoral degrees at North American universities who are underrepresented in the field of computing. About 230 students submitted proposals this year, the most competitive group yet.