Biography

Dr. Nilay Kant served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University from January 2023 to July 2025. He earned his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 2015 and completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU) in 2020. During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting student researcher at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Dr. Kant received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 2020 at MSU for his doctoral research.

After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Kant worked in industry as a Senior Mechatronics and Control Engineer at Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, Michigan, and later as a Senior Controls Engineer at Mainspring Energy in Menlo Park, California. Drawing from his dual experience in research and industry, he integrates foundational theory with applied engineering practice in both his teaching and research.

At Michigan State, he taught undergraduate courses and mentored graduate students. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed papers in top journals and conferences, and his doctoral research was recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at Michigan State University.

I am actively seeking graduate students to join my research group. If you’re interested, please send me your CV.

Research Interests

Robotics, control systems, dynamics, aerospace control applications, underactuated systems, impulsive control.

Education

• 2020 – Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University
• 2015 – Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi