I work closely with Ph.D. students, postdoctoral researchers, master’s students, and undergraduate students at the University of Michigan on research projects in control theory, with a focus on aerospace and automotive systems. Ph.D. and postdoctoral positions in my group become available from time to time.
In my group, I encourage students to develop deep scholarly knowledge of control theory and the mathematical maturity, rigor, and sophistication required to transform new ideas into results that are both rigorous and impactful. At the same time, I place strong emphasis on developing an in-depth understanding of aerospace and automotive systems, so that theory is always informed by—and tested against—real engineering challenges.
This deliberate integration of theory and application prepares students to pursue ambitious research and provides a strong foundation for future careers in academia, industrial R&D, and government laboratories.
The list of my former Ph.D. students, the year of their graduation, and the titles of their dissertations are given below:
27. Bernardo Bahia Monteiro Liu (2024), "Control Related Metrics for Multidisciplinary Design Optimization" (co-advised with C. Cesnik).
26. Jordan Leung (2024), "Supervisory, time-distributed, and optimization-based strategies for Model Predictive Control" (co-advised with A. Girard).
25. Kaiwen Liu (2023), "Model-free Learning and Interaction-aware Control for Safe Autonomous Driving" (co-advised with A. Girard).
24. Mateus De Freitas Virgilio Pereira (2022), "Maneuver and Gust Load Alleviation for Flexible and Very Flexible Aircraft" (co-advised with C. Cesnik).
23. Hyuai Li (2022), "Advances in Game-Theoretic, Set-Theoretic and Optimal Control to Enhance Mobility," Co-Chair (co-advised with A. Girard).
22. Nan Li (2021), "Game-Theoretic and Set-Based Methods for Safe Autonomous Vehicles on Shared Roads," (co-advised with A. Girard).
21. Johnny Hansen (2020), "Control Allocation of Flexible Aircraft for Load Alleviation," (co-advised with C. Cesnik).
20. Andrew Berning (2020), "Control and Optimization for Aerospace Systems with Stochastic Disturbances, Uncertainties, and Constraints," (co-advised with A. Girard).
19. Dominic Liao-McPherson (2020), "Variational and Time-Distributed Methods for Model Predictive Control."
18. Hao Wang (2019), "Model Predictive Climate Control for Connected and Automated Vehicles” (co-advised with J. Sun).
17. Richard Sutherland (2019), "Advances in Disjunctive and Time Optimal Predictive Control Methods" (co-advised with A. Girard).
16. Will Dunham (2019) "Advanced Predictive Control Strategies for More Electric Aircraft" (co-advised with A. Girard).
15. Greg Frey (2018), "Advances in Constrained Spacecraft Relative Motion Planning" (co-advised with A. Girard).
14. Robert Zidek (2017), "Drift Counteraction Optimal Control: Theory and Applications to Autonomous Cars and Spacecraft."
13. Chris Petersen (2016), "Advances in Underactuated Spacecraft Control."
12. Zhaojian Li (2015), "Development in Estimation and Control for Cloud-Enabled Automotive Vehicles" (co-advised with E. Atkins).
11. Rohit Gupta (2015), "Analytical and Numerical Methods for Optimal Control Problems on Manifolds and Lie Groups" (co-advised with A. Bloch).
10. Mike Huang (2015), "Low Complexity Model Predictive Control of a Diesel Engine Airpath."
9. Uros Kalabic (2015), "Reference Governors: Theoretical Extensions and Practical Applications."
8. Kevin McDonough (2015), "Developments in Stochastic Fuel-Efficient Cruise Control and Constrained Control with Applications to Aircraft."
7. Hyeongjun Park (2014), "Real-Time Predictive Control of Constrained Nonlinear Systems Using the IPA-SQP Approach," (co-advised with J. Sun).
6. Matt Dillsaver (2013), "Gust Response and Control of Very Flexible Aircraft," (co-advised with C. Cesnik).
5. Kevin Zaseck (2013) "Modeling and Control of Hydraulic Linear and Free-Piston Engines," (co-advised with Z. Filipi and D. Assanis).
4. Avishai Weiss (2013) "Predictive, Adaptive and Time-Varying Control of Spacecraft Orbits and Attitude."
3. Ali Nazir (2012), "Comprehensive Fault Tolerance and Science-Optimal Attitude Planning for Spacecraft Applications,” (co-advised with E. Atkins).
2. Shifang Li (2011), "Distributed Supervisory Controller Design in Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles for Battery Swapping Modularity," (co-advised with G. Ulsoy).
1. Reza Ghaemi (2010), "Computationally Efficient and Robust Model Predictive Control," (co-advised with J. Sun).