Data-Driven, Nonparametric, Adaptive Control Theory

Professor Andrew J. Kurdila is an expert in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, Koopman theory, approximation theory, and control on native spaces. Among his numerous recognitions, we recall the W. Martin Johnson Professorship at Virginia Tech, the TEES faculty fellowship at Texas A&M University, and the AIAA associate fellowship to name a few. He is the author of 5 books on various topics in the general area of control theory and more than 300 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers.

Professor Andrea L'Afflitto is an expert in robust model reference adaptive control theory and its applications to autonomous aerospace systems. Dr. L'Afflitto is an AIAA Associate Fellow, one of the 2018 DARPA Young Faculty Awardees, and received numerous externally funded awards for his research in the area of adaptive control theory and autonomous uninhabited aerial vehicles. Presently, Dr. L'Afflitto is the Senior Editor for the Autonomous Systems track of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems and is a member of the IEEE Editorial Board. He is the authors of a monograph on flight controls, 3 book chapters, and more than 40 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. Finally, he served as the first editor for a contributed book on the guidance, navigation, and control of advanced aerospace systems.

Professor John A. Burns is the Hatcher Professor of Mathematics and Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Mathematics at Virginia Tech. He is an IEEE Lifetime Fellow, SIAM Fellow, and recipient of numerous awards in mathematics including the W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize. Dr. Burns is an expert in optimal control theory, control of partial differential equations, and estimation theory. He is the author of 1 book on calculus of variations and more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. Furthermore, he served as co-editor of two contributed books and principal or co-principal investigator for more than40 externally funded competitive research projects. Finally, Professor Burns delivered more than 250 invited talks at universities, world-class research centers, and international conferences. Presently, Dr. Burns serves as the Series Editor for the Monograph and Research Notes in Mathematics and served as editor-in-chief, associate editor, and editor for numerous journals in mathematics and control theory.