A3 presents 2025 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) recently announced two longtime industry pioneers as the winners of the 2025 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards.

Stuart "Stu" C. Shepherd, co-founder and president of Shepherd Solutions Inc., was selected as a winner for his distinguished industry leadership. He was recognized for more than 46 years of transforming manufacturing in the Americas through robotic automation and capital equipment-related new business development, including past service as chairperson of both A3 and its predecessor - the Robotics Industries Association (RIA) - and is a current A3 Robotics board member.

Peter Corke, distinguished professor emeritus at Queensland University of Technology, was selected as an award winner in the education category for his impact in robotics education and research, including the creation of the widely used open-source “Robotics Toolbox” software, authoring the bestselling textbook “Robotics, Vision, and Control,” and developing the Robot Academy online video resource.

Shepherd and Corke were presented their awards during a dinner and ceremony at Automate 2025 held the evening of May 14.

Award recognized lifelong industry contributions

The Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards are named after the late Joseph F. Engelberger, known throughout the world as the founding force behind industrial robotics. Since 1977, these awards have been given to 141 robotics leaders from around the world for excellence in technology development, application, education, and leadership.

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. A3 administers the award, and each winner receives a $5,000 honorarium, a commemorative medallion, and a plaque.

“This year’s Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards honorees have dedicated their lives to our industry, and so many of us have benefitted from their contributions,” said Jeff Burnstein, A3 president. “Stu’s leadership and foresight over the past 46 years have been instrumental in transforming manufacturing. Peter’s educational resources and research have shaped the work of robotics engineers for many years and led to immeasurable industry advancements.”

Shepherd brings consulting, integration leadership

Shepherd is the co-founder and president of Shepherd Solutions Inc., an industry consulting firm. His past experience includes automation integration roles at General Motors, and sales and top leadership roles at FANUC, KUKA, Güdel, Universal Robots (UR), and consulting roles at Gain & Co. and HowToRobot, both of which merged in 2024.

He is a past chairperson at both the RIA and A3, a current A3 Robotics board member, and an R15.05 safety committee member. He is also 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.”

Corke pioneered mining, drone navigation technology

Corke is currently a distinguished professor emeritus at Queensland University of Technology, where he co-founded the robotics discipline, which has grown to be one of the largest robotics research and teaching groups in Australia. Prior to that, he worked for the national research agency CSIRO as a researcher and then as the founding director of the CSIRO Autonomous Systems Lab.

His early work focused on the automation of underground and surface mining equipment and farm vehicles, IoT, visual-inertial navigation of flying and underwater drones, and mobile manipulation robots (MMRs). He holds a number of patents and is currently chief roboticist at robotic packing company LYRO Robotics and technical advisor to drone-mapping company Emesent.

He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and the Australian Academy of Science. He is the former editor-in-chief of the IEEE Robotics & Automation magazine, as well as 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.”