About

Bernardo Aceituno is a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Co-Founder of Stack AI. He is an expert in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, with a focus on robotic manipulation and integrating model-based and machine learning tools. At MIT, Bernardo is working at the MIT MCube Lab with Prof. Alberto Rodriguez, where he has developed a mathematical theory of robustness and certification for 2D manipulation tasks in the frictionless plane. He has also designed a machine learning framework that integrates deep learning with model-based mechanics to solve dexterous manipulation problems. Bernardo has proposed a global model of quasi-dynamics for contact-trajectory optimization and applied it to solving long-horizon manipulation tasks. Before co-founding Stack AI, Bernardo led research projects at Facebook A.I. Research (FAIR) and at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), focusing on deep learning, trajectory optimization, and legged robots. At Meta, he led a research project developing a machine learning framework to learn precise 2D manipulation skills from video demonstrations. Their approach integrated classical deep learning with novel tools from differentiable model-based contact mechanics (optimization and simulation). Bernardo's education history includes a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and a Minor in Business and Administration from MIT, a Master of Science (SM) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Universidad Simón Bolívar. Bernardo's tech stack includes AI, Research Scientist, Deep Learning, and ML. He has relevant experience of 1.28 years. Bernardo's current company, Stack AI, is the Middle-Layer for AI, backed by Y Combinator, Soma Capital, and Epakon Capital. They were part of the MIT Delta V 2021 program.