About Us

About LATTICE

The Laboratory for Air Transportation, Infrastructure, and Connected Environments (LATTICE) is a research group at the University of Michigan, led by Prof. Max Z. Li. Founded in 2022, LATTICE was established to address a growing need in aerospace research: a stronger focus on air transportation systems as complex, data-driven, and socio-technical infrastructures.

The group brings together a diverse team of master’s students, PhD researchers, and postdoctoral scholars, combining expertise in operations research, optimization, and artificial intelligence to tackle real-world challenges in safety-critical environments.

LATTICE develops methods to improve the safety, efficiency, and resilience of air transportation and emerging mobility systems. Its work spans air traffic management, trajectory optimization, advanced air mobility, and AI-driven decision support, with a focus on robust and scalable approaches to decision-making under uncertainty.

Across these areas, the group emphasizes the integration of theory and practice, developing solutions that are both mathematically rigorous and operationally relevant.

Values

At LATTICE, we sincerely and emphatically believe that the true richness and impact potential of a person's contributions can be best realized in the following dual setting:

The person feels supported mentally, emotionally, and academically. 

The person is surrounded by others who share the same set of commitments towards excellence.

As we pursue cutting-edge methodological and applications-oriented research in LATTICE to enable the next-generation air transportation system, we are united by, grounded in, and actively embody the above statement of values.

If our mission and culture resonate with you, we’d love to hear from you about potential collaborations or joining the lab.

Explore

• People to meet the team
• Research for more information on projects
• Publications for journal and conference papers