Qin Lin

By Alex Keimig

Engineering Technology’s assistant professor Qin Lin has been a member of the Cullen faculty since 2024, and in that time, he has paid close attention to how students engage with and apply what they learn to become a deeply student-centered educator.

His educational background “lies at the intersection of computer science and electrical engineering,” so robotics provides “a natural platform” to integrate the two disciplines.

“My research focuses on motion control for robotic systems,” said Lin. “In simple terms, I aim to make robots move more safely and reliably in real-world environments.”

Running a lab taught him how to build research infrastructure, support students and navigate research challenges, and the experience has strongly shaped how he approaches research, mentoring and hands-on work.

“My teaching philosophy is informed by how learning has changed in the age of AI and abundant online resources,” he continued. “While students have access to many self-learning tools, the real challenge is often not a lack of information but knowing where to start and how to learn effectively. I see the instructor’s role as providing clear guidance and structured learning paths tailored to students’ backgrounds.

“I strongly value hands-on learning. I believe students learn best when they work with tangible systems and practical problems, where concepts become something they can see, build and test.”

Lin also places a high value on this direct interaction in his own work, which he sees as much more valuable than publishing for the sake of publishing.

“I’m not someone who only works at a high level or stays in theory and stimulation. I really enjoy building things, writing code, debugging systems and working directly with hardware. Even now, I still spend a lot of time working side by side with students, in the lab or at home, iterating on robot platforms.

“For me, building robots is not just a means to publish results,” said Lin. “I genuinely enjoy the process of turning ideas into working systems.”

Lin received his Ph.D. from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands before moving to the United States for a postdoctoral position at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He also spent two years teaching and doing research at Cleveland State University before joining the University of Houston.  He considers growing into the role of an independent Principal Investigator (PI) to be one of his biggest learning opportunities so far.

“Houston provides nearly all the resources I need to move my research forward,” he said. “The first year and a half was especially busy as I relocated my research group from Cleveland and rebuilt the lab. Robotics research requires more than computers and notebooks; it depends heavily on experimental infrastructure. I am grateful to have great students who supported this transition.”