John Bares

President and CEO

Discovering his passion for robotics early, as a Civil Engineering undergraduate John helped design, build, and deploy the first robots to inspect the crippled Three Mile Island nuclear facility. After obtaining a PhD in Civil Engineering from CMU in 1991, his first role was with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. Returning to CMU in 1994 with their faculty, he led the development of the Dante II rappelling robot that descended into and explored the inner crater of an Alaskan volcano and co-led development of an autonomous 25-ton earthmover for Caterpillar Inc.

John was appointed as Director of the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) in 1997, a joint venture between NASA and CMU. During his tenure at NREC, he oversaw the development of several state-of-the-art defense reconnaissance robots, automated mining and agricultural machines as well as innovative magnetic robots to remove paint from the hulls of large ships. Caring about the community, John was instrumental in creating NREC Robotics Academy, which educates K-12 students and teachers with multimedia curricula, teacher seminars, outreach programs, and competitions.

In 2010, John founded Carnegie Robotics LLC (CRL). While running NREC was a dream job, a desire burned to create a product oriented company, known for engineering excellence, while uniquely having the capabilities to design, manufacture, test, and calibrate its products under one roof. After leading CRL to a successful first five years, John stepped aside as the challenge of self-driving cars required his attention. As the founding Director of Uber ATG in 2015, John successfully placed self-driving vehicles on Pittsburgh roads in just 20 months. After overseeing one million miles of self-driven cars, John returned to the helm of CRL in 2017, where he is carrying out the original vision of a product oriented company.

David LaRose

Chief Scientist

Catching the robotics bug during his time at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, David worked in Computer Assisted Surgery and Mobile Robotics for three years. Wanting to expand on his robotics experience, he enrolled in Carnegie Mellon for graduate studies, receiving a MS and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. David spent eight years at NREC before leaving to help found CRL with John Bares.

David has accumulated various US patents in his 30 years of experience in robotics and computer vision. His inventions are currently used in operating rooms worldwide during fluoroscopic and orthopedic procedures, in biotech labs for computer vision based drug discovery, in active coal mines to predict conveyor belt failures, and self-driving cars as part of the world’s first autonomous transportation services fleet.

David has been integral to the success of CRL, serving as CTO until departing in 2015 to be a founding member of Uber ATG. Returning to CRL in 2017, he has taken pride in being part of a company with both technical and organizational strengths. He sees excitement in knowing CRL completes end to end product development, from concept all the way through full rate production. Dave’s appreciation for his coworkers and the relationships he has built along the way provide him the energy and happiness to continue attacking each new day with determination and rigor.

Mike Embrescia

Chief Development Officer

Matt Alvarado

Director of Software Engineering

In 2012, after completing his undergraduate studies at Olin College of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Matthew chose Carnegie Mellon for their Masters of Science in Robotic Systems. Between his passion for robotics and crossing paths with John Bares while at CMU, he joined the Carnegie Robotics’ team while still attending graduate school. Matthew’s career began as a software engineer, leading a team in laying the groundwork for CRL’s first core product line, MultiSense Stereo Cameras.

In 2016, Matthew's skill sets and knowledge were called on to help establish Uber ATG. His expertise in vision, camera calibration, and robotic systems played a crucial role in the success of self driven vehicles. Returning to CRL in 2018, Matthew has led the Software Engineering department to new heights in his role as Director of Software Engineering. As a leader in a growing company, he has also taken on many additional responsibilities including project management, recruitment, and ensuring the safety of CRL employees through the pandemic. His work ethic and drive has led to the success of projects across multiple industries including Defense, Mining, Agriculture, and Industrial Cleaning.

Grant Gross

Director of Manufacturing

Manufacturing is in Grant’s blood, with a Grandfather managing a manufacturing floor 50 years prior in a building only three miles from Carnegie Robotics, entrepreneurial parents, and an older sister operating in manufacturing. After obtaining his Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University, Grant began working for a Defense contractor, managing their Quality Management System. Wanting to understand all aspects of manufacturing, he also filled roles in Manufacturing Engineering, Inventory, Supply Chain, Production Planning, and Production Management in his last stop before CRL.

Joining Carnegie Robotics in 2017, Grant was excited for the opportunity to be a part of an energetic, growing company that had just created a Manufacturing department. Hiring and developing teammates is what provides him job satisfaction. Being part of a talented team that creates reliable, efficient processes, producing quality products and running towards the most challenging problems, not from them, keeps him motivated daily. Driven by his pride and desire to re-establish American Manufacturing, he feels fortunate to have found a company and team that supports this goal.

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