O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award

Sérgio Pequito is a postdoctoral researcher in general robotics, automation, sensing & perception laboratory (GRASP lab) at University of Pennsylvania. He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and Instituto Superior Técnico, through the CMU-Portugal program, in 2014. Previously, he received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the Instituto Superior Técnico in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Pequito’s research consists in understanding the global qualitative behavior of large-scale systems from their structural or parametric descriptions and provide a rigorous framework for the design, analysis, optimization and control of large scale (real-world) systems. Currently, his interests span to neuroscience, where control theoretic tools can be leveraged to develop new analysis tools for brain dynamics that, ultimately, will lead to new diagnostics and treatments of neural disorders. Further, these tools can be used to improve brain-computer and brain-machine-brain interfaces that will improve people's life quality. Pequito was awarded with the best student paper finalist in the 48th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (2009). In addition, Pequito received the ECE Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Mellon Graduate Teaching Award (university-wide) honorable mention, both in 2012.

Soummya Kar received a B.Tech. in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in May 2005 and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, in 2010. From June 2010 to May 2011 he was with the Electrical Engineering Department at Princeton University as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. He is currently an Assistant Research Professor of ECE at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests span several aspects of decision-making in large-scale networked dynamical systems with applications to problems in network science, cyber-physical systems and energy systems.

George J. Pappas is the Joseph Moore Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a secondary appointment in the Departments of Computer and Information Sciences, and Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. He is a member of the GRASP Lab and the PRECISE Center. He has previously served as Deputy Dean for Research in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. His research focuses on control theory and in particular, hybrid systems, embedded systems, hierarchical and distributed control systems, with applications to unmanned aerial vehicles, distributed robotics, green buildings, and biomolecular networks. He is a Fellow of IEEE, and has received various awards such as the Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize, the George S. Axelby Award, the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award, the National Science Foundation PECASE, and the George H. Heilmeier Faculty Excellence Award.

Hector Perez received the B.S. degree from California State University, Northridge, CA, USA, and the M.S.E. degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 2010 and 2012, respectively, in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. He is currently a Graduate Student Researcher in the Energy, Controls, and Applications Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. In 2010–2012, he was a Graduate Student Research Assistant in the Powertrain Control Laboratory, University of Michigan. He was a Propulsion Engineer at the Boeing Company in 2012–2013, and helped return the Boeing 787 into service following the battery failure events in 2013. His current research interests include modeling, optimal control, and experimental validation of energy storage systems. Mr. Perez received the Ford Foundation Predoctoral and GEM Fellowships, the University of California, Berkeley Special State Fund for Strategic Research Award and Graduate Division Grant Award. He has received the Best Student Paper Award at the American Control Conference in 2015, the Energy Systems Best Paper Award at the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference in 2015, and the Best Paper Award in the Renewable Energy Systems Session at the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference in 2012.

Scott Moura is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 2011, the M.S. degree from the University of Michigan in 2008, and the B.S. degree from the UC Berkeley, in 2006 - all in Mechanical Engineering. He was a postdoctoral scholar at UC San Diego in the Cymer Center for Control Systems and Dynamics, and a visiting researcher in the Centre Automatique et Systèmes at MINES ParisTech in Paris, France. He is a recipient of the Hellman Faculty Fellows Award, UC Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, University of Michigan Distinguished ProQuest Dissertation Honorable Mention, University of Michigan Rackham Merit Fellowship, College of Engineering Distinguished Leadership Award. He has received multiple conference best paper awards – as an advisor and student. His research interests include control & estimation theory for PDEs, optimization, machine learning, batteries, electric vehicles, and the smart grid.