Yunyi Jia

McQueen Quattlebaum Professor of Automotive Engineering

yunyij@clemson.edu
(864) 283-7226
4 Research Drive
Greenville, SC 29607

Director, Collaborative Robotics and Automation (CRA) Lab

Dr. Yunyi Jia joined Clemson in 2016 and is currently the McQueen Quattlebaum Professor of Automotive Engineering in the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Clemson University. He directs the Collaborative Robotics and Automation (CRA) Lab, with a vehicle research lab located at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) and a robotics research lab located at the Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI).

Dr. Jia’s research focuses on robotics and autonomous vehicles empowered by AI, with applications in smart manufacturing and intelligent transportation. His work spans both fundamental and applied research, from robotic manufacturing in industrial factories to autonomous driving in on-road and off-road environments. Dr. Jia received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University in 2014. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a member of SAE, ASME, and ACM.

Selected Honors and Awards:

• Best Paper Award, Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), 2026
• University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement (URSAAA) Award, 2026
• Filipi Research Excellence Award, 2025
• TRB Committee Best Paper Award, 2024
• Best Paper Award, 2nd, IEEE Automated Vehicle Validation Conference (IAVVC), 2023
• Most Accessed ASME Papers, 2022
• SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, 2020
• CECAS Faculty Collaboration Award, 2020
• NSF CAREER Award, 2019
• SAE Trevor O. Jones Outstanding Paper Award, 2018
• Ford-University Research Program (URP) Award, 2018-2021
• Bosch Community Fund Award (2017-2020)

Selected Student Honors and Awards:

• Automotive Engineering Undergraduate Researcher Award (M. Herrera-Gutierrez, 2026)
• College Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award (H. Su, 2025)
• Outstanding Automotive Engineering Teaching Assistant Award (Y. Yan, 2025)
• Outstanding Automotive Engineering Ph.D. Student Award (H. Su, 2025)
• Automotive Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award (Y. Zhang, 2025)
• Best Research Presentation Award in USDOT C2M2 Conference (P. Gupta, 2021)
• College Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award (L. Guo, 2020)