Christian Hubicki, an associate professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is known for his work in robotics and his appearances on the reality television show “Survivor.” He leads the Optimal Robotics Lab at the Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics, and Energy Center in Innovation Park. There, he and his students develop algorithms to help robots move through complex environments.
Hubicki has participated twice as a contestant on “Survivor,” a long-running reality competition that began in 2000. His first appearance was during Season 37 in 2018, where he became recognized for his energy and strategic gameplay before being voted off just before the finale.
“Getting to be on ‘Survivor’ for the first time was a dream come true,” Hubicki said. “I had been applying for years, filming my audition tapes in my graduate student robotics lab in the middle of the night so no one would see me because I was embarrassed. I was sending in those tapes and hearing nothing. Then they eventually put me on the show.”
He returns to compete again in “Survivor 50: In the hands of the fans,” which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25 from 8-11 p.m. ET on CBS with 23 other returning contestants.
“Seven years later, they remembered me,” Hubicki said. “They wanted me to be back again. It’s pretty crazy. I’m so flattered for that. Over 750 people have played this game over the course of 50 seasons of the show, and some tiny minority of us get to go, and I’m among that. How cool is that?”
In addition to his television experience, Hubicki focuses his research on legged robotics—including both bipedal robots that walk like humans and quadruped robots modeled after animals—control optimization, and locomotion biomechanics.
“I’ve been interested in robotics since I was a young child, ever since I had a set of LEGOs that I got for Christmas,” Hubicki added. “I watched the movie ‘Short Circuit’ with the robot Johnny 5. I knew that this was for me.”
Hubicki earned his doctorate as a dual major in robotics and mechanical engineering from Oregon State University in 2015 before serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech.
His interest in “Survivor” began when he was fourteen years old after watching several episodes; he believed his background in STEM could help him succeed even without technology present.
Reflecting on his experiences across two seasons of “Survivor,” Hubicki noted how different it felt each time: “Getting to play a second time, you have a whole different perspective,” he said. “The first time you go in, you have no idea what it’s going to be like… And then once you’ve gone through it, you get a bead on what this is about.”
Back at Florida State University (FSU), Hubicki continues working with students on improving robotic intelligence through new research projects.
“I’m living the dream,” Hubicki said. “I’m taking a childhood dream of doing things with robots and pairing it with an actual profession. We’re developing new cutting-edge research, publishing it and discussing it with colleagues. I feel so fortunate because you get to marry that joy, that adventure of what you love about robots with something you get to do for a living.”
He also shared lessons learned from interacting with diverse individuals during “Survivor,” explaining how these skills translate into teaching:
“What it takes is an open mind and it takes persistence,” Hubicki said. “It takes an openness to other people. And that’s exactly the thing we expect of our students here at the university… You must adapt to these classes that come your way…”
“You have to persist regardless,” he added. “You go to office hours, you do homework and homework groups. It’s the same thing on this show. You need to find people you can count on, even when things get tough.”
Hubicki’s career demonstrates how curiosity and adaptability are important both inside academic labs and outside them.
