Event
UTRC CDS Invited Lecture: Andrew Sparks
Thursday, October 6, 2016
2:00 p.m.
1146 A V Williams
UTRC Control and Dynamical Systems Invited Lecture Series
Systems and Control Research at United Technologies Research Center
Andrew Sparks
Group Leader, Control Systems
Systems Department
United Technologies Research Center
East Hartford, Conn.
Abstract: This presentation will give a broad overview of research at UTRC’s Systems Department, with particular focus on the areas of autonomous and intelligent systems and advanced controls. The research, conducted by a diverse team of researchers in robotics, dynamical systems, advanced control, applied mathematics, and human factors, includes intelligent system architecture for autonomy, human-machine systems, and formal verification; collaborative motion planning for multiple aerial and ground robots in large, cluttered, uncertain environments; real-time algorithms for dynamic collision avoidance in an obstacle-rich environment using probabilistic roadmaps; navigation with imperfect and intermittent sensors in GPS degraded environments; system decomposition and decentralized control for control of large, complex mechanical systems; cyber-physical security and privacy; and Koopman operator theoretic method for data driven system and control applications. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of existing and future career and internship opportunities in the broad area of autonomous and intelligent systems and controls.
Dr. Andrew Sparks received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1986 and 1988 and joined what is now Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a military officer. He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995, returning to AFRL to lead several research teams in developing and transitioning modern control analysis and design methods for aerospace vehicles, authoring or co-authoring one book, two book chapters, 30 journal articles, and 72 conference papers. He received his MS in Management from Stanford University as a Sloan Fellow and returned to AFRL to lead the Analytical Mechanics Branch, Flight Control Division, and Power and Control Division, leading R&D programs in flight control, automation, electrical power systems and thermal management. For the last two years has been the Control Systems Group Leader in the Systems Department at UTRC, leading a highly technical team in developing capabilities and solving challenges for UTC’s aerospace and building business units.
