# Vincent Laurense

> Staff Software Engineer at Zoox | Motion planning & control for autonomous vehicles

Location: Stanford, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/vincentlaurense

In my PhD research at Stanford University, I focused on motion planning and control for an autonomous race car. By studying vehicles dynamics and control at the limits of handling, I learned how we can use the full tire-force potential to make self-driving cars faster on a race track, or safer on the streets. At Zoox I'm now working on the development of safe autonomous mobility from the ground up.

## Work Experience
### Staff Software Engineer @ Zoox
Jan 2020 – Present

### PhD candidate & graduate Research Assistant @ Stanford University
Jan 2014 – Jan 2019 | Stanford, CA
PhD candidate in the Dynamic Design Lab with prof. Chis Gerdes. My research focuses on motion planning and control for an autonomous race car, aimed at using the full tire-force potential. Developed a nonlinear optimal control framework for real-time vehicle control with a long planning horizon.

Led the development and deployment of a next-generation autonomous race car in the lab, in collaboration with Volkswagen Group Research.

### Race Engineer @ Stuart Racing Team
Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Elst, The Netherlands
Race engineer during the testing season, preparing for the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Junior championship.

### Trainee Researcher @ TNO
Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | Helmond, The Netherlands
Researcher at TNO Automotive, focusing on target tracking & classification with radar, camera & vehicle-to-vehicle data for cooperative adaptive cruise control and autonomous driving applications, and team captain of three interns involved in parallel projects.

### Data Analyst & Race Strategy Engineer @ DB Motorsport B.V.
Jan 2008 – Jan 2013 | Waddinxveen, The Netherlands
Started in the pit crew for national endurance races, developed pit stop strategy tools and started car data analyses in national sprint race competitions. Grew with the team competing with three BMW Z4 GT3 in various international sprint and endurance championships. Responsible for car data analysis for car health monitoring and driver development, configuration and maintenance of onboard logger and sensor systems, and race strategy monitoring.

2013: ADAC GT Masters (Supercar Challenge)
2012: Blancpain Endurance Series, ADAC GT Masters, Supercar Challenge
2011: FIA GT3 European Championship (Blancpain Endurance Series, ADAC GT Masters)

### Trainee Researcher @ Entropy Control Inc.
Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 | La Jolla, California, United States
Research on advanced driver support systems (haptics, visualizations) and automotive human-machine interaction, with a fixed-base simulator and a newly equipped test vehicle.

### Intern Researcher @ Nissan Motor Company
Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 | Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
Researcher at the Nissan Advanced Technology Center, on driving performance benchmarking of simulated steer-by-wire systems, implementation of new simulator hardware, and evaluation of a car stability control system in a proving ground experiment.

### Student Assistant @ TU Delft
Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 | Delft, The Netherlands
Student assistant in the Control & Simulation department for 4 hours per week, organizing and hosting a practical with the SIMONA Research Simulator for third year students.

### Student Assistant @ TU Delft
Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 | Delft, The Netherlands
Student assistant in the Flight Performance & Propulsion department for 8 hours per week, developing course material for a first year course and an MSc course.


## Education
### Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mechanical Engineering
Stanford University

### Master of Science (MSc) in Aerospace Engineering
Delft University of Technology

### Honors Program Master in Automotive Dynamics & Safety
Delft University of Technology

### Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Aerospace Engineering
Delft University of Technology

### VWO gymnasium (pre-university)
Emmauscollege Rotterdam


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/vincentlaurense

---
Source: https://flows.cv/vincentlaurense
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/vincentlaurense/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-12