Professor Jenelle Piepmeier

Professor, Department of Weapons, Robotics, & Control United States Naval Academy

Dr. Jenelle Piepmeier is a 1993 graduate of Letourneau University where she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She went on to earn a M.S. and PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology also in Mechanical Engineering. For over 25 years she has taught robotics, computer vision, and control systems to the future leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

From 2020-2026, she served as the 66th department chair for what is now known as Weapons, Robotics, and Control Engineering Department overseeing an academic program designed to educate midshipmen about robotic manipulation, sensing and control of autonomous systems on the ground, in the air, and on or below the water's surface. The department's history traces back to the Department of Ordnance and Gunnery when the United States Naval Academy was established in 1845. Her research interests included vision-based robotic control at both the micro and macro scales and she has published numerous articles on the subject.