Author | Lightnews

Alex LaGrassa

@lagrassa.bsky.social

47 followers 75 following 16 posts

Recent Robotics PhD passionate about inclusive & equitable knowledge sharing, especially about tech. My research is in combining classical robotics with AI. I love edible plants and composting. Pronouns: them/them preferred

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jul 28

Today I learned that my dresser was from the iconic Kauffman’s department store AND seems to have been stamped during the “Pittsburg” days (pre 1911). A little piece of #Pittsburgh history :) #vintage

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jul 27

Had to harvest the potatoes early this year, but still pretty decent! This is about a third of the total. Fed by my house compost :)

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jul 13

Looking for queer #communityliving in Jersey City? We're looking for one more housemate to join our 5 br/3 ba house in JC Heights. We value communication, process, autonomy, and mutual care for each other.

Rent is $1075/mo

Please DM to chat about it and see if we're a fit #FindRoommates

2 panels, housemates and cats. In housemates panel, there's a "progress pride" flag, 2 white people in an aquarium named "bec & hazel, 25", Alex & Alyssa (White Latina, white), & Sid, 21 (south indian). There is an empty panel that says "You?" The two cats are orange. One wears a sweater one is in a bag.

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jul 7

Hello! I and some colleagues are running a @blackinrobotics.bsky.social virtual workshop on July 13th where participants learn basic computer programming by writing code to move a robot arm!

Sign-up at www.eventbrite.com/e/beginning-...

#stemeducation #Robotics #python #coding

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jun 5

Great selection of online summer workshops from the talented @blackinrobotics.bsky.social roboticists who are passionate about inclusive STEM education. This is a great way to get started with programming (and building!) your own robot. Many topics in #Robots #STEM #AI #programming #engineering

Black in Robotics @blackinrobotics.bsky.social · May 30

Black in Robotics has great workshops for adults and kids. Kit workshops start at $35, simulation workshops start at $5, check them out here!
black-in-robotics.eventbrite.com
#Robots #Drones #AI #MachineLearning #ROS #C #Arduino #Wketc #Python #ArtificialIntelligence
🤖🤖🤖

Black in Robotics

Black In Robotics hosts online robotics and software workshops using to educate the community from novice to expert on topics such as robotics, AI, Python, ROS, MATLAB, Arduino, Micro:Bit, and Circuit...

black-in-robotics.eventbrite.com

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · May 28

Career update: I'll be starting as an Assistant Teaching Professor in Computer Science at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

For now, I'm enjoying a break to work on some personal projects and catch up on reading.

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Apr 14

Belated personal update:
I defended my PhD in #Robotics at #CarnegieMellon!

Thank you to Oliver Kroemer and my labmates for constructing a heartwarming and creative “Doktorhut” ❤️🤖🦾

Now it’s time to play with much less expensive robots.

Group photo of 9 people in front of a slide titled “enabling reliable model based planning with inaccurate models”

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Apr 14

high-performing model from a new open source AI company that just came out of stealth. It’s on hugging face, so I hope to try it out!

Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · Apr 9

Deep Cogito

Cogito v1 Preview: Introducing Iterated Distillation and Amplification (IDA) as a path to general superintelligence.

- The LLMs are trained using IDA.
- Each model can answer directly (standard LLM), or self-reflect before answering (like reasoning models).

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Apr 12

Absolutely MASSIVE service and route cuts for Pittsburgh public transit, making a borderline bus system nearly unusable. *PLEASE* comment to communicate how important public transit is to us and our safety. #Pittsburgh #transit

THE AUTOnomous BODY SHOP @theautobodyshop.bsky.social · Apr 4

Pittsburgh! Did you know you can fill out a survey and comment on the proposed bus route cuts and fare increase for our city’s public transit?

Let your voice be heard! Takes less than 5 minutes to complete:

engage.rideprt.org/research/com...

Comment Form: Proposed Service Reductions and Fare Increases for Fiscal Year 2026 | Research Portal

State funding for public transit is no longer able to keep up with the needs of Allegheny County, creating a funding crisis for PRT and other agencies.

engage.rideprt.org

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 28

I’m in Minneapolis and amazed by the public transit here. From my hotel on UMN campus, going through midtown, then to the airport DOOR TO DOOR *including a transfer* was 34 minutes on the train.

Functional public transit is so nice. I didn’t expect it in the Midwest.

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 24

This is sooo cooool. I hope something like this catches on so we can have more solar energy collection integrated in our lives.

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 23

My thesis defense is coming up on Jan 31 at 11AM ET! It’s called “enabling reliable model-based planning with inaccurate models.”
Dm or email [email protected] if you’d like the zoom link and don’t have it.

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 22

Summary of this week

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 19

Mask blocs are a great way to get affordable N95 masks. we have one in Pittsburgh. Please donate so they can continue their great work!

Mask Up Pittsburgh @maskuppgh.bsky.social · Jan 11

Hello everyone! We, in collaboration with 30+ mask blocs, have purchased 93,000+ n95s to distribute across the US. We have a fundraiser to offset costs with a goal of $12,819.81. Please donate or share: tinyurl.com/bulkN95s

#MaskDistributionfundraising #COVIDIsntOver #mutualaid #covidisnotover

Dark blue background with white text that reads: “Mask Fundraiser! Over 93,000 N95s were purchased in a group effort with over 30+ mask blocs.” In the middle of the image is an Aura N95. Below it is white text that says “Every dollar helps! Donate at: https://tinyurl.com/bulkn95s “ To the right is a box with white text that says “Donation Goal: $12,819.81. Donations will go towards: covering necessary costs and reimbursing blocs and members who fronted personal funds.”

Dark blue background with white text that reads: More Info: Where did the masks come from and where are they going? The masks and hand sanitizer were sources from government surplus locations in Virginia. They will be distributed to 33 mask blocs and mutual aid orgs in the Eastern US. How will they be distributed? All participating organizations have worked together to coordinate the amount of supplies needed and what would be feasible for each group to receive. Supplies will be distributed in our respective communities for free!”

Dark blue background with white text that reads: “More Info. What are the “necessary costs”?” A bulleted list includes:
Rental vehicles/equipment and necessary insurance, gas, tolls, food, and potential accommodations needed in the acquisition and transportation of supplies to participating organizers.
Freight shipping to transport masks from Virginia to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Georgia.
Mailing masks and hand sanitizer to some blocs.
Compensate wages lost for those who must take off work to acquire or distribute supplies and cannot fully volunteer their time.
Reimburse CRANE organizers who fronted the funds to purchase the masks.”

Dark blue background with white text that reads: “More Info, Cost Breakdown.” The goals are broken into two smaller goals: a primary goal and stretch goal. The primary goal is $1,255 which has bullet points underneath that say:
Fronted $ in collected pool: $300
Current Costs Incurred by Blocs: $455
Agreed Upon Cushion for Transit Costs That Haven’t Occurred Yet: $500
The next bullet points include the STRETCH GOAL: $11,524.81
Fronted $ in the collected pool: $1,935
Mask Purchase: $8,520
Hand Sanitizer Purchase: $228.48
Fronted $ for Mask Transit: $778.38
Fronted $ for Hand Sanitizer Transit: $102.95”

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Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 14

At a hotel for an interview. The room they gave me has a plush husky, a dog bed, and amenities such as peanut butter and blueberry treats. (I do not have a real dog). 10/10 best interview hotel room so far.

Alex LaGrassa @lagrassa.bsky.social · Jan 9

It’s super cold this week in #Pittsburgh. As awful as our city’s shelter situation is, there are options for all genders, including drop-in overflow for winter conditions connect.alleghenycounty.us/wp-content/u... Stay warm everyone.

connect.alleghenycounty.us