Modern Control Theory and Applications
AME 4970/5970
Andrea L'Afflitto, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Biologists, chemists, and physicists' goal is describing the behavior of nature using the unambiguous language of mathematics, whereas engineers exploit scientific results to control natural events and improve our quality of life. Control theory is the branch of applied mathematics that unifies the invaluable analysis and synthesis efforts of scientists and engineers.
Control theory is progressing at an extraordinary fast pace and has realized dreams that would have been considered as "magic" before 1800 and science fiction until a few decades ago. We can now control our appliances by tapping on the surface of a mobile phone, driverless cars are a reality, and permanently injured persons regain the ability to move their limbs.
Dr. L' Afflitto's is introducing in Spring 2017 the course AME 4970 - 5970 "Modem control theory and applications," which is aimed at presenting OU students the most advanced control techniques and their applications in modern engineering problems. Dr. L' Afflitto's "dream" for our students is to learn modem control theory not only through lectures, homework assignments, and group projects, but also from world-class experts.
Public Lecture Series
The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering presents a public lecture series in conjunction with the Presidential Dream Course. Presentations are free and open to the public. For information or accommodation to events on the basis of disability, contact Andrea L'Afflitto, a.lafflitto@ou.edu.
Distributed Estimation and Control for Robotic Sensor Networks
Thursday, February 2, 2017
10:30am
Hitachi Conference Room, Felgar 214
Michael Zavlanos
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
Michael M. Zavlanos received the Diploma in mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece, in 2002, and the M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, in 2005 and 2008, respectively. From 2008 to 2009 he was a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He then joined the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, where he remained until 2012. Currently, he is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke University, Durham, NC. He also holds a secondary appointment in the department of electrical and computer engineering. His research interests include a wide range of topics in the emerging discipline of networked systems, with applications in robotic, sensor, and communication networks. He is particularly interested in hybrid solution techniques, on the interface of control theory, distributed optimization, estimation, and networking. Dr. Zavlanos is a recipient of the 2014 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, the 2011 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, as well as Best Student Paper Awards at GlobalSIP 2014 and CDC 2006.
Symmetries and Dynamics of Complex Networks
Friday, March 3, 2017
2:00pm
Hitachi Conference Room, Felgar 214
Francesco Sorrentino
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico
Francesco Sorrentino received a PhD in Control Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy). He was first a postdoc and then visiting assistant professor in the Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos group at the University of Maryland at College Park. From 2008 to 2011 he was assistant professor at the University of Napoli Parthenope. In 2012 he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico. His research primarily focuses on cutting-edge topics in Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos Theory. His work includes studies on dynamics and control of complex networks, adaptive sensor networks, adaptation in complex systems, and identification of nonlinear systems. Other subjects of interest are the dynamics of large networks of coupled neurons and evolutionary game theory.
Distributed Coordination for Network Optimization
Friday, April 7, 2017
10:30am
Carson Engineering Center, Room 100
View Lecture Flyer [PDF]
Jorge Cortés
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego
Jorge Cortes is a Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He received the Licenciatura degree in mathematics from the Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, in 1997, and the Ph.D. degree in engineering mathematics from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, in 2001. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He was an Assistant Professor with the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 2004 to 2007. He is the author of "Geometric, Control and Numerical Aspects of Nonholonomic Systems" (New York: Springer-Verlag, 2002) and co-author of "Distributed Control of Robotic Networks" (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009). He received a NSF CAREER award in 2006 and was the recipient of the 2006 Spanish Society of Applied Mathematics Young Researcher Prize. He has co-authored papers that have won the 2008 IEEE Control Systems Outstanding Paper Award, the 2009 SIAM Review SIGEST selection from the SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, and the 2012 O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award in the Theory category. He has been an IEEE Control Systems Society Distinguished Lecturer (2010-2014) and is an IEEE Fellow.
Operationalizing small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS)
Thursday, April 20, 2017
2:00pm
Hitachi Conference Room, Felgar 214
View Lecture Flyer [PDF]
Rick Lusk
Founder and Director, UAS Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Rick Lusk is the Founder and Director of the UAS Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With more than 30 years of professional experience, he is an expert in designing and planning integrated technology platforms and managing their creation and transformation into comprehensive, authoritative, and intuitive decision support systems.
Before joining the lab, Lusk designed and developed multiple complex strategic technology, operation, and marketing plans for multinational businesses and U.S. government agencies. These include designing the first global client-server network for imagery analysis, managing the first implementation of international VOIP for telecommunications, and identifying and linking the technologies and businesses that built WebTV. His career has ranged from working at the MIT Media Lab, to providing business solutions to customers such as Jack Nicklaus Golf, Gary Player and Bankrate, to representing United States interests abroad.
A former Marine Corps officer, Lusk holds a BS in communications from the University of Idaho and an MBA from Boston University. He is a graduate of the National Defense University Advanced Management Program and is a federally certified enterprise architect and chief information officer. Additionally, he holds certificates in International Management from Sanyo Leadership School in Japan and in International Terrorism Studies from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Rick is also an ISO TAG member and UAS Expert for the USA, and has an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating.
His latest publications include:
"An Early Survey of Best Practices for the Use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems by the Electric Utility Industry", published Feb 2017. https://www.osti.gov/scitech/biblio/1344293
"Seeing Things, An eclectic collection of favorite personal photographs", published Jan 2017. http://www.blurb.com/b?ebook=611687
