2nd Lt. William Hubert

2nd Lt. William Hubert’s route to Purdue AI Racing started at the United States Air Force Academy, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, specializing in robotics. Given the chance to pursue a civilian master’s degree, Hubert found Purdue’s autonomous racing program a perfect match: "I ultimately chose Purdue because of this unique opportunity to contribute to an autonomous racecar project," he says, noting the appeal of Purdue’s world-class engineering reputation.

Now at Purdue, Hubert focuses primarily on longitudinal control, developing methods to push the racecar to its performance limits safely and efficiently. His responsibilities extend to racetrack logistics and on-track data collection, directly connecting his academic pursuits with real-world challenges faced by the PAIR team. "The experience has deeply enriched my understanding of robotics and control systems," Hubert says. Looking ahead, he sees autonomous racing as crucial for physical AI advancement: "Autonomous racing offers a valuable proving ground—it provides a safe, high-performance environment to test AI decision-making and control systems before deploying them on public roads."