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Frank Permenter is a leading figure in humanoid robotics and convex optimization for contact-rich manipulation. His work spans the full pipeline of robotic autonomy, from locomotion planning and control to tactile sensing and material localization. He is best known for his foundational contributions to the Atlas humanoid robot, detailed in his highly cited 2015 paper on optimization-based locomotion, estimation, and control (814 citations), which has become a key reference for whole-body dynamic walking. Permenter also played a pivotal role in the development of Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space, a landmark achievement in collaboration with NASA and General Motors (451 citations). His more recent work introduces a groundbreaking unconstrained convex formulation of compliant frictional contact (25 citations), offering guaranteed global convergence and robust performance. Earlier, he advanced manipulation of flexible materials through Bayesian filtering (46 citations) and designed miniature load cells for human-sized robot fingers (9 citations). Permenter’s research uniquely bridges theoretical convex optimization with practical, high-impact robotic systems, making him a vital contributor to the next generation of dexterous, space-capable robots.