inControl

Outline00:00 - Intro01:33 - Starling Flock Formations07:17 - Harvesters ants in the desert16:54 - Decision making in the natural world and opinion dynamics 32:08 - A geometric look at political polarization36:50 - Control theory and dancing53:25 - CreativeX55:25 - On creativity57:47 - Advice to future studentsLinksAndrea Cavagna - http://tinyurl.com/uywn592jIrene Giardina - http://tinyurl.com/4jmk2h5n Starling Flock Networks Manage Uncertainty in Consensus at Low Cost: http://tinyurl.com...

Outline00:00 - Intro01:05 - Dancing and control theory03:31 - Geometric control on Lie groups09:14 - Underwater vehicles and geometric mechanics18:45 - On the Hamiltonian framework21:25 - Underwater field experiments in Monte Rey Bay 36:27 - Collective motion and coordination in animal groups54:40 - Honeybees and bifurcation theory1:03:36 - OutroLinksNaomi’s website: http://tinyurl.com/j755aww5Naomi’s PhD Thesis: http://tinyurl.com/ywkvvy7kLie group: http://tinyurl.com/2p83jw9sAveraging: http...

Outline00:00 - Intro00:47 - Mind the gap (metric)03:16 - Moment problems and Nevanlinna interpolation06:53 - “Everything relates to everything else”11:27 - Distances between power spectra 16:08 - Optimal mass transport and Schrödinger bridges32:25 - Sinkhorn iteration and Wasserstein geometry37:45 - Color of turbulence41:38 - Thermodynamics and energy harvesting from heat baths55:01 - Quantum mechanics57:55 - Adjustable one-ports1:07:20 - “Aha moments” and advice to future generations1:1...

Outline00:00 - Intro01:50 - Running marathons 05:19 - The Center13:28 - On creativity15:24 - From algebraic system theory to moment problems43:39 - The gap metric58:33 - The longstanding friendship and collaboration with M. Smith01:11:30 - On causality and the arrow of time LinksTryphon’s website: https://georgiou.eng.uci.edu/People in control interview: https://tinyurl.com/4nw5s9p6R. Kalman: https://tinyurl.com/mux93t32A. Tannenbaum: https://tinyurl.com/2pws6rzdMoment problem - htt...

In this episode, we dive into the world of flying robots with Davide Scaramuzza (University of Zürich), a leading expert in vision-based navigation, agile drone racing, perception-aware control, and the cutting-edge neuromorphic technology of event cameras. We explore the challenges of autonomous navigation in GPS-denied environments, the excitement of drone racing, the future of robotics, and the revolutionary potential of event-based cameras.Outline00:58 - Magic 02:58 - Visual SLAM and auto...

In this episode, we chat with Cleve Moler, a pioneer in numerical mathematics, creator of MATLAB and co-founder of MathWorks. We cover the birth of MATLAB, along with captivating stories about the origin of the iconic MathWorks logo, the enigmatic "why" command, the concept of "embarrassingly parallel computations," and the mysterious Pentium bug, among other. Outline00:00 - Intro 05:23 - Advice to students 05:45 - Caltech & J. Todd 07:07 - Stanford & G. Forsythe08:27 - Th...

In this episode, we chat again with John Doyle about the frontiers of control theory. Starting from the fascinating interplay between bacteria, physics, and the Internet, we explore the universal laws that govern complex systems. We discuss the inner workings of phenomena like earthquakes, wildfires, and sepsis, emphasizing the vital role of control theory in understanding intrinsic tradeoffs and fragilities. Finally, we discuss the essential components of a full theory of architectures, ...

In this episode, we sit down with John Doyle, a living legend in the field of robust control, to delve into his incredible journey in control theory. We explore his past at MIT and Honeywell, his time at Berkeley, and his journey through the golden age of robustness. From his groundbreaking work on margins of systems, \mu synthesis, and the H_\infty problem, to his insights on System Level Synthesis (SLS) and modern control architectures, John shares his thoughts on the past, present, and fut...

In this episode, our guest is Mustafa Khammash. Mustafa is the director of the Control Theory and Systems Biology Lab at ETH Zürich and guides us in this episode as we explore Cybergenetics - the cutting-edge intersection of control theory and synthetic biology. From biomolecular control to antithetic motifs, we discuss real-world applications and ethical dilemmas. Don't miss it!Outline00:00 - Intro00:50 - Cybergenetics02:22 - Genetics 10105:07- Where control meets biology06:49 - Mustafa's ea...

In this episode, our guest is Stephen Boyd. Stephen is the Samsung Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. Join as we dive deep into control, convex optimization, linear matrix inequalities, disciplined convex programming, teaching styles, and... rock & roll sound!Outline- 00:00 - Intro - 07:48 - Early years at Berkeley - 10:25 - The role of theory in practice - 16:19 - On traveling (intellectually)- 19:40 - Convex optimization - 31:51 - On Linear ...

Our guest in this episode is Rodolphe Sepulchre, Professor of Engineering at KU Leuven in the Deparment of Electrical Engineering (STADIUS) and at the University of Cambridge in the Deparment of Engineering (Control Group). We dive into Rodophe's scientific journey across nonlinear control, neuroscience and optimization on manifolds through the unifying lens of control theory.Outline- 00:00 - Intro - 03:54 - Why control? - 11:08 - Spiking control systems - 20:47 - The mixed feedba...

In this episode, our guest is Jean-Jacques Slotine, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Information Sciences as well as Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director of the Nonlinear Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Distinguished Faculty at Google AI. We explore and connect a wide range of ideas from nonlinear and adaptive control to robotics, neuroscience, complex networks, optimization and machine learning.Outline00:00 - Intro00:50 - Jean-Jacques' earl...

In this episode, we delve into the extraordinary life of Norbert Wiener, the founding father of cybernetics - the science “control and communication in the animal and the machine”. Outline00:00 - Intro02:06 - The early years of Norbert09:00 - Europe and WWI15:50 - MIT days19:30 - Norbert’s marriage22:39 - Generalised harmonic analysis28:18 - The interactions with Hopf and Paley31:14 - Bush and the analog computer program35:55 - WWII, Bigelow and prediction theory40:41 - Rosenbleuth and teleol...

In this episode, our guest is Sean Meyn, Professor and Robert C. Pittman Eminent Scholar Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. The episode features Sean’s adventures in the areas of Markov chains, networks and Reinforcement Learning (RL) as well as anecdotes and trivia about beekeeping and jazz.Outline00:00 - Intro00:22 - Sean’s early steps03:53 - Markov chains08:45 - Networks18:26 - Stochastic approximation25:00 - Reinforcement Learning3...

In this episode, our guest is Alessandro Chiuso. Alessandro is a Professor in the Department of Information Engineering at the University of Padova. The episode covers several topics, including Alessandro’s research trajectory, his work in system identification and vision, and his passion for skiing. Check out Alessandro’s website here: http://automatica.dei.unipd.it/people/chiuso.html Outline00:00 - Intro 01:51 - Research trajectory03:52 - Influential figures 08:20 - System identif...