Aaron Kandel
Aaron Kandel
I am an experienced machine learning scientist with a track record of creating high-impact results in real-world applications across autonomous decision making, video processing, robotics, and energy systems domains. Currently, I work on the ML research team at Nissan, where I lead efforts developing multimodal deep learning models for autonomous decision-making and personalized user experiences in energy marketplaces.
My research interests include:
Risk-aware forecasting, optimization, and control: distributional robustness, reinforcement learning, learning MPC, and stochastic optimal control.
Information theory: optimal experiment design, efficient machine learning, and state estimation.
Applications: vehicle-grid integration, autonomous vehicles, video processing, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and energy management systems.
I completed my PhD with a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship at the Energy, Controls, and Applications Lab (eCal) at UC Berkeley with Professor Scott Moura. My research focuses on risk-aware reinforcement learning and scientific machine learning in renewable energy and smart city applications.
I love woodworking and sculpture, and am an avid luthier in my free time. My portfolio primarily includes electric guitars. I specialize in building multiscale and extended range musical instruments.
Check out the rest of my site to learn more about me and my work!
Recent News:
(05/23/2025): Our paper in collaboration with Vanderbilt University is a Best Paper Award Finalist at AAMAS2025.
(10/16/2023): My paper "Safe Learning MPC With Limited Model Knowledge and Data" is fully accepted to IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology.
(10/02/2023): First day as a research scientist at Nissan Silicon Valley!
(12/02/2022): I gave an invited talk at Stanford University. Thank you to Simona Onori for graciously hosting me!
(10/05/2022): I gave an invited talk at the 2022 Modeling, Estimation, and Control Conference. Read about it here!
(09/27/2022): Very happy I was able to attend NextProf Nexus 2022!
(06/24/2022): I gave an invited talk to the YouTube Media Algorithms Research Group, discussing my current research in optimal control and reinforcement learning and its relevancy to advanced methods in video processing.
(05/09/2022): I joined Google as a research intern on the Learning to Encode team.
(04/11/2022): I passed my qualifying exam!
(12/09/2021): Journal paper accepted to ASME Letters in Dynamic Systems and Control. We explore the effects underlying Fisher identifiability of vehicle chassis models, revealing insights that motivate improved experiment design.