Joseph Masterjohn
Senior Research Scientist at Toyota Research Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolJoseph Masterjohn is a senior research scientist in Boston with 11 years of experience blending computational geometry, robotics, and high-performance parallel computing. He progressed through roles at Toyota Research Institute from intern to senior scientist, applying expertise in GPGPU (CUDA), OpenMP, C++ and control systems to real-world robotics problems. His academic foundation—BSc in Mathematics and an MS (and pursuing/completing PhD-level work) in Computer Science at the University of Miami—underpins a strong research orientation and teaching background. Notably, he has made substantive open-source contributions to the RobotLocomotion/drake project, improving geometry, multibody dynamics, and hydroelastic contact support used by the robotics community. Colleagues rely on him for tough numerical and simulation challenges where mathematical rigor and performant implementations intersect. He combines deep theory with production-focused engineering, often surfacing nonobvious improvements in geometry and dynamics modeling that accelerate system-level validation.
11 years of coding experience
4 years of employment as a software developer
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Computer Science, 4.0, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Computer Science, 4.0 at University of Miami
Stackoverflow
133reputation
865reached
5answers
1question
Github Skills (15)
mesh10
c-language10
geometry10
cprogramming-language10
dynamics10
quaternions9
computational-geometry8
simd6
collision6
catkin6
simulation6
drake6
intel6
sse6
gcc6
Programming languages (5)
Github contributions (5)
RobotLocomotion/drake
Sep 2019 - Jan 2023
Model-based design and verification for robotics.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:934 reviews, 48 commits, 140 PRs in 3 years 4 months
Contributions summary:Joseph contributed significantly to the geometry and multibody dynamics aspects of the project. Their work included implementing a cylinder mesh generator, adding a four-bar linkage simulation example, and adding support for quaternion-based floating joints. Further contributions encompass refactoring and parameterizing rigid bodies, updating documentation, as well as adding and testing for various features related to hydroelastic contact.
model-basedmodel-based-designroboticsdrakeverification
joemasterjohn/drake
Jul 2019 - Apr 2025
Model-based design and verification for robotics.
Contributions:3 reviews, 5 PRs, 1113 pushes in 5 years 9 months
model-basedmodel-based-designroboticsverification
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