I am a Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics and an Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. I received my Ph.D. from USC in 1996. I was a member of the Guidance, Navigation, and Analysis group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1996-2000 (projects that I worked on at JPL are listed below) and an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota from 2000-2002. I am currently the Director of the Robotics, Aerospace, and Information Networks (RAIN) Laboratory and the Executive Director of the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation, a center supported by the State of Washington dedicated to promoting collaborations between academia and aerospace industry in the state. My research interests are distributed and networked systems, autonomous aerospace and robotic systems, and the intersection between learning, networks, autonomy, and control theory, with multi-disciplinary applications.
Basics
- Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics
- Endowed University Professorship in Control Systems and Networks
- Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Adjunct Professor of Mathematics
- Director of Robotics, Aerospace, and Information Networks (RAIN) Laboratory
- Executive Director of Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation
- Fellow of IEEE
- Associate Fellow of AIAA
Control System Magazine Interview
Mathematics Genealogy Project Page
Research Interests
- Distributed Systems & Networks: Coordination algorithms, synchronization, control over networks, distributed optimization, algebraic graph theory, formations, space constellations, swarms, mixed networks, product networks, multi-time scale networks, human/bots teams, aerospace networks, robotic networks, network control and dynamics, state-dependent networks, uncertain/random networks, adaptive and resilient networks, system theory of networks, fundamental theory, algorithms, and applications.
- Autonomy & Control: Optimization-based synthesis, semidefinite and convex programming, duality, rank constrained and nonconvex optimization, robust and optimal control, real time motion planning, computational control, distributed actuation, perception-based control, fundamental theory, algorithms, and implementation for control/estimation, robotics, trajectory planning, flight systems, energy optimization, human/bots teams, cubesats, space systems, and planetary landing with constraints.
- Data-guided Decision-making: Learning for feedback control and autonomy, data-guided network control, trade-offs between identification and control, fundamental guarantees, dimension reduction, safe learning, data-guided control, first order methods for control and games, reinforcement learning, and federated/distributed learning.
- Engineering Education: Learning paradigms, effective teaching, social learning, write/code/build to-learn, online learning, inclusive teaching, teaching across disciplines and cultures.
Media
Controlling Robotic Swarms (Brian Douglas):
How to Land on a Planet (Brian Douglas):
Flying Smart with Autonomous Vehicles (UW TV):
Teaching
I teach a variety of courses-that to a large extend-reflect my research interests. These include:
- Orbital and Spaceflight Dynamics (undergraduate)
- Aerospace Control (undergraduate)
- Optimization and System Sciences (graduate)
- Spacecraft Dynamics and Control (graduate)
- Multivariable Control (graduate)
- Networked Dynamics Systems (graduate)
- Robust Control (graduate)
- Mathematical Foundations of System Theory (graduate)
an article in UW Column Magazine
Education
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, USC, 1996
- M.S., Mathematics, USC, 1995
- M.S. Electrical Engineering, USC, 1991
- B.S. Engineering, California State University, 1989
Experience
- Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics, University of Washington, 2010-present
- Adjunct Professor, Mathematics, University of Washington, 2010-present
- Executive Director, Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI), 2012-present
- Associate Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics, University of Washington, 2005-2010
- Assistant Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics, University of Washington, 2002-200
- Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota, 2000-2002
- Member Technical Staff, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 1996-2000
JPL projects (1996-2000)
- Cassini Mission to Saturn: saturn orbit insertion, spacecraft attitude estimation, error budget analysis
- Shuttle Radar Tomography (SRTM): attitude control for the tip of a 60m boom connected to the Shuttle bay
- Starlight Mission/Deep Space 3: balanced fuel optimization, formation control, error-budget analysis
- Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF): formation control, fuel optimization, interlink delays, robustness
Editorial
- IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, Associate Editor
- IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, Associate Editor
- AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Guest Editor
Consulting
- Boeing Company
- Scientific Systems
- Nader Consulting Group
Awards
- Graduate Instructor of the Year, Aeronautics & Astronautics, 2015
- Fellow of IEEE, 2015
- Professor of the Year, Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010
- College of Engineering Innovator Award for Teaching, 2008
- Keynote speaker, Graduation, Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2008
- Professor of the Year, Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006
- University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award, 2005
- Member; University of Washington Teaching Academy (since 2005)
- Professor of the Year, Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004
- NASA Space Act Award, 2004
- NSF CAREER Award, 2001
- NASA New Technology Award, 2001
- Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Award, JPL, Caltech, 2000
- Achievement Award for the Cassini Program, NASA, 1998
- Cassini Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem Award, JPL, Caltech, 1997
- Finalist, IEEE Control System Society Best Student Paper Award, 1996
