People / Students / 2025-2026
Conor Hayes graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Computer Engineering & Computer Science in 2019, and is returning to academia after 6 years working on spacecraft avionics (NASA JPL, Honeybee Robotics, Second Order Effects), wearable medical devices (Wesper), and other mixed hardware-software products, both as an employee and through his own consulting business. In undergrad, he also co-led the first group of students to design, build, and launch a rocket to space (USCRPL's Traveler IV).
At Northwestern, he plans to leverage his existing software, firmware, and product skills to dive into the field of embodied AI. He's particularly excited about the potential of ML/AI-based approaches to facilitate:
1. cheaper builds (making better use of limited hardware)
2. robots that work well with people--particularly robots which augment, rather than replace, human effort (industrial cobots, smart prosthetics, home assistants)
3. robots that navigate difficult environments autonomously, especially in long-term deployments like space exploration, remote equipment maintenance, and farming
Outside of engineering, he also loves making music. The songs he's written, recorded, and released under the stage name "Wise John" have received over 750k streams on Spotify, and he's played sold out shows at indie venues in NYC, LA, and elsewhere.
