Biography

I am an internationally recognized expert in Cognitive Electronic Warfare (EW) and embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI). I am Fellow of the IEEE for contributions to closed-loop control of embedded systems, and a Fellow of AAIA for outstanding achievements in the area of smart homes. I offer training and consulting services, focusing on embedded AI and ML, cognitive EW, cognitive control systems, and strategic AI integration.

I design and develop cognitive techniques for physically-embodied complex systems, including RF networks, smart homes, cyber security, jet engines, oil refineries, and space systems (Shuttle Columbia and the International Space Station). My most recent technical success has been in the area of Cognitive RF Systems. With my co-author Julia Andrusenko, I released the second edition of Cognitive Electronic Warfare: An Artificial Intelligence Approach in 2025, significantly expanding the content to reflect the latest advances in AI for EW.

My areas of expertise within AI  include Machine Learning, Planning, Optimization, and Behavior Modeling. Physically-embodied systems have unusual requirements compared to “google”-style machine learning, notably they have hard real-time operating requirements, and are frequently on small embedded processors.  To create an effective embedded cognitive system, I have demonstrated that we must

• • re-architect ML approaches to be suitable for limited-memory devices and real-time operating system

  • ensure that ML works even in very data-limited domains, including conditions in which the system must learn from exactly one example

  • incorporate expert knowledge in the ML model, e.g. as feature generators or search-space control

  • understand which ML approaches are most appropriate for particular datasets

  • understand how to involve humans in the decision-making process (e.g. humans-on-the-loop)

I was a pioneer in three different fields that are now common across the globe.

• 1. Autonomous vehicles: closed-loop planning and ML on autonomous robots. My PhD work (1998) was the first to put AI-style-planning onto a real-hardware robot, and then do Machine Learning to update the planning models, i.e. it was the first full-cycle loop of an autonomous robot doing both planning and learning. This capability is absolutely key in all autonomous vehicle work being conducted globally today.

  2. Smart homes for elder care: passive behavior monitoring to assist the elderly and help them stay at home. From 2001-2003, I was the PI In a research project for Honeywell, where I managed a group of approximately 30 people across a broad spectrum of skills. The project was so successful that Honeywell made a strategic acquisition to integrate & market the technology. This area is still a Honeywell line of business -- you can google Honeywell LifeCare. As PI, I did everything from the initial technical approach in the proposal, through the successful field trial, through the IP analysis and the architectural/technical evaluation of the potential acquisitions. (For additional information, see the 2000 proposal on the history of ILSA; the 2005 LifeCare research directions talks about the just-acquired company.)

  3. Cognitive RF systems: machine learning to control complex multi-objective communications systems. Notably, I was the lead designer for the cognitive controller in DARPA/IPTO’s Adaptive Cognition-Enabled Radio Teams (ACERT) program in 2005-2007. This controller became the first known real-world system (not simulation) to use ML to dynamically control Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) radio behavior. Cognitive networking became its own field by 2010.

I received my PhD in AI at Carnegie Mellon University in 1998, and have since worked at Honeywell Labs, BBN Technologies, L3 Communication Systems West, and Mercury Systems.

I enjoy working with multi-disciplinary teams and across technical domains. Technical communities frequently use different languages to describe requirements, capabilities, and challenges. My work has almost universally crossed multiple domains, requiring effective communication at very different levels, and the ability to translate across communities. Early in my collaborations with RF engineers, Greg Troxel, a leading expert in the Software Defined Radio community, described me as “The first AI person I’ve met who had their head screwed on correctly.”

I have led many projects where I created the technical vision, gave technical direction, managed budgets and financial constraints, and met delivery schedules and demo requirements. Notably, my work in cognitive electronic warfare was a result of my strategic vision well before the broader RF community was ready to embrace AI/ML, and has led to a successful transition with the customer. 

I actively participate in strategic planning and business development, including market analysis, customer visits and opportunity tracking. I understand the customer’s key requirements, even when the customer has difficulty articulating them. I am an accomplished proposal writer, acting as both capture manager and technical lead on proposals to DARPA, AFRL, ONR, IARPA, NASA and NIST. My proposals universally cross multiple technical areas, and usually involve several subcontractors.

I am a regular presenter to both academic and military communities. I have been invited to give keynote addresses to the Association of Old Crows (AOC), NATO and IEEE schools for young engineers, organizations such as the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL), Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), University of Minnesota, Microsoft, and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis (CSBA). I participate in panels and discussions at academic conferences. In 2007, I led a study in DARPA's Information Science and Technology (ISAT) advisory council, providing inputs for DARPA's long-term vision. I prepare technical papers and presents at technical conferences, including chairing and organizing the largest conference focused on applying AI to real datasets: Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence. During my career, I have published over 100 technical documents, including writing three books.

I also enjoy engaging in employee mentorship activities, working with junior employees on activities such as technical development, leadership skills, marketing and career planning.

I enjoy travel, have three citizenships, lived on five continents, and speak English, French and Mandarin Chinese. My Chinese name is 华凯伦 . I have had two pieces of pottery displayed at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA. In the mid 1990s, my food-and-cooking website was the largest such site on the internet, and won awards for content and presentation; I also published a cookbook with collected recipes from our group.